System and method for obtaining information about occupancy of a compartment in a movable object in which at least first and second optical imagers obtain images of a common area of the compartment and spaced apart from one another. Processing circuitry derives information from the images obtained by...http://www.google.fr/patents/US20060208169?utm_source=gb-gplus-shareBrevet US20060208169 - Vehicular restraint system control system and method using multiple optical imagers

Vehicular restraint system control system and method using multiple optical imagersUS 20060208169 A1

Résumé

System and method for obtaining information about occupancy of a compartment in a movable object in which at least first and second optical imagers obtain images of a common area of the compartment and spaced apart from one another. Processing circuitry derives information from the images obtained by the imagers. A light source may illuminate the common area of the compartment and be interposed between the imagers. The processing circuitry can include a microprocessor with at least one pattern recognition algorithm and be arranged to determine the distance between the imagers and an object in the common area by locating a specific feature in the common area by first locating the feature in only the image obtained by one imager, then determining the location of the same feature in the image obtained by another imager, and determining the distance of the feature from the imagers by triangulation.

Images(216)

Revendications(27)

1. A vehicle comprising:

a compartment;

a crash sensor system arranged to detect a crash involving the vehicle;

a restraint system having a variable actuation in the event of a crash involving the vehicle;

an occupant monitoring system for obtaining information about occupancy of said compartment and controlling said restraint system based on the obtained information, said occupant monitoring system comprising:

at least first and second optical imagers for obtaining images of a common area of said compartment, said first and second imagers being spaced apart from one another; and

processing circuitry coupled to said crash sensor system, said restraint system and said first and second imagers and arranged to derive information from images obtained by said first and second imagers and control the actuation of said restraint system based on the derived information and on detection of a crash by said crash sensor system,

said processing circuitry being arranged to identify the occupant such that the presence of different types of occupants is determinable and said restraint system is controllable to provide different actuations depending on the type of the occupant.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said occupant monitoring system further comprises a light source for illuminating the common area of the compartment.

3. The vehicle of claim 2, wherein said light source is interposed between said first and second imagers.

4. The vehicle of claim 2, wherein said light source is arranged to project structured light into the common area.

5. The vehicle of claim 4, wherein said light source is approximately midway between said first and second imagers.

6. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said processing circuitry comprises a microprocessor with at least one pattern recognition algorithm.

7. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said processing circuitry is arranged to determine the distance between said first and second imagers and an object in the common area by locating a specific feature in the common area by first locating the feature in only the image obtained by said first imager, then determining the location of the same feature in the image obtained by said second imager, and determining the distance of the feature from said first and second imagers by triangulation.

8. (canceled)

9. A vehicle comprising:

a compartment;

a crash sensor system arranged to detect a crash involving the vehicle;

a restraint system having a variable actuation in the event of a crash involving the vehicle;

an arrangement for adjusting or controlling said restraint system based on information about occupancy of said compartment, said arrangement comprising:

at least first and second optical imagers for obtaining images of a common area of said compartment, said first and second imagers being spaced apart from one another;

processing circuitry coupled to said crash sensor system and said first and second imagers and arranged to derive information from images obtained by said first and second images and determine the manner in which said restraint system is to be actuated based on the derived information and on detection of a crash by said crash sensor system; and

an adjustment or control system coupled to said processing circuitry for adjusting or controlling said restraint system to provide for the determined manner of actuation of said restraint system as determined by said processing circuitry,

said processing circuitry deriving a model of an occupying item in said compartment based on at least one initial set of images from said first and second imagers and subsequently deriving information about movement of the occupying item based on variations between the model and subsequently obtained images from said first and second imagers.

10. (canceled)

11. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein said arrangement further comprises a light source for illuminating the common area of said compartment.

12. The vehicle of claim 11, wherein said light source is interposed between said first and second imagers.

13. The vehicle of claim 11, wherein said light source is arranged to project structured light into the common area.

14. The vehicle of claim 13, wherein said light source is approximately midway between said first and second imagers.

15. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein said processing circuitry comprises a microprocessor with at least one pattern recognition algorithm.

16. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein said processing circuitry is arranged to determine the distance between said first and second imagers and an object in the common area by locating a specific feature in the common area by first locating the feature in only the image obtained by said first imager, then determining the location of the same feature in the image obtained by said second imager, and determining the distance of the feature from said first and second imagers by triangulation.

17. (canceled)

18. A method for controlling actuation of a restraint system in a vehicle based on occupancy of a compartment in the vehicle, comprising:

arranging a crash sensor system on the vehicle to detect a crash involving the vehicle;

arranging a restraint system on the vehicle which has a variable actuation in the event of a crash involving the vehicle;

arranging at least first and second optical imagers on or in connection with a wall defining the compartment, the first and second imagers being spaced apart from one another;

obtaining images of a common area of the compartment via the first and second imagers;

deriving information from the images obtained by the first and second imagers, said step of deriving information comprising identifying an occupant in the compartment such that the presence of different types of occupants is determinable; and

controlling actuation of the restraint system based on the derived information and on detection of a crash by the crash sensor system, the restraint system being controlled to provide different actuations depending on the type of the identified occupant.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising illuminating the common area of the compartment via a light source interposed between the first and second imagers.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the light source is arranged to project structured light into the common area and is approximately midway between the first and second imagers.

21. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising an instrument panel, said first and second imagers being arranged above said instrument panel.

22. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said first and second imagers are vertically spaced apart from one another.

23. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a driver's seat and at least one additional seat, said first and second imagers being arranged such that the common area is defined above said at least one additional seat.

24. The vehicle of claim 6, wherein said at least one pattern recognition algorithm comprises a trained pattern recognition algorithm trained in a training stage to identify different occupants by obtaining images from said first and second imagers when each of a plurality of different occupants is present in the common area of said compartment and associating a derivation of the images with an identification of the occupant.

25. (canceled)

26. A method for controlling actuation of a restraint system in a vehicle based on occupancy of a compartment in the vehicle, comprising:

arranging a crash sensor system on the vehicle to detect a crash involving the vehicle;

arranging a restraint system on the vehicle which has a variable actuation in the event of a crash involving the vehicle;

arranging at least first and second optical imagers on or in connection with a wall defining the compartment, the first and second imagers being spaced apart from one another;

adjusting or controlling the restraint system based on information about occupancy of the compartment, said adjusting or controlling step comprising

arranging at least first and second optical imagers spaced apart from one another on the vehicle;

obtaining images of a common area of the compartment via the first and second imagers;

deriving information from images obtained by the first and second imagers;

determining the manner in which the restraint system is to be actuated based on the derived information and on detection of a crash by the crash sensor system, the restraint system being adjusted or controlled to provide for the determined manner of actuation of the restraint system;

deriving a model of an occupying item in the compartment based on at least one initial set of images from the first and second imagers; and

subsequently deriving information about movement of the occupying item based on variations between the model and subsequently obtained images from the first and second imagers.

27. A vehicle comprising:

a compartment;

a crash sensor system arranged to detect a crash involving the vehicle;

a restraint system having a variable actuation in the event of a crash involving the vehicle;

an occupant monitoring system for obtaining information about occupancy of said compartment and controlling said restraint system based on the obtained information, said occupant monitoring system comprising:

at least first and second optical imagers for obtaining images of a common area of the said compartment, said first and second imagers being spaced apart from one another; and

processing circuitry coupled to said crash sensor system, said restraint system and said first and second imagers and arranged to derive information from images obtained by said first and second imagers and control the actuation of said restraint system based on the derived information and on detection of a crash by said crash sensor system,

said processing circuitry comprising a microprocessor with at least one pattern recognition algorithm, said at least one pattern recognition algorithm comprising a trained pattern recognition algorithm trained in a training stage to identify different occupants by obtaining images from said first and second imagers when each of a plurality of different occupants is present in the common area of said compartment and associating a derivation of the images with an identification of the occupant.

3. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/174,803 filed Jun. 19, 2002 which is a continuation-in-part of:

a) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/500,346 filed Feb. 8, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,442,504, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/128,490, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,078,854, which is a continuation-in-part of:

b) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/849,558 filed May 4, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,653,577, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/193,209 filed Nov. 17, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,701, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/128,490 filed Aug. 4, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,078,854, which is a continuation-in-part of:

c) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/849,559 filed May 4, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,689,962, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/193,209 filed Nov. 17, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,701, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/128,490 filed Aug. 4, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,078,854, which is a continuation-in-part of:

d) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/901,879 filed Jul. 9, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,555,766, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/849,559 filed May 4, 2001 which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/193,209 filed Nov. 17, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,701, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/128,490 filed Aug. 4, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,078,854, which is a continuation-in-part of:

5. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/234,067 filed Sep. 3, 2002 which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/778,137, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,513,830, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/905,877 filed Aug. 4, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,537, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/505,036 filed Jul. 25, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,462, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/040,978 filed Mar. 31, 1993, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/878,571 filed May 5, 1992, now abandoned;

a) a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/905,877 filed Aug. 4, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,537, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/505,036 filed Jul. 25, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,462, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/040,978 filed Mar. 31, 1993, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/878,571 filed May 5, 1992, now abandoned;

8. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/227,780 filed Aug. 26, 2002, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/838,920 filed Apr. 20, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,778,672, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/563,556 filed May 3, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,683, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/437,535 filed Nov. 10, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,712,387, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/047,703 filed Mar. 25, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,139, which is:

a) a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/640,068 filed Apr. 30, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,782, which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/239,978 filed May 9, 1994, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/040,978 filed Mar. 31, 1993, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/878,571 filed May 5, 1992, now abandoned; and

b) a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/905,876 filed Aug. 4, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,802, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/505,036 filed Jul. 21, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,462, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/040,978 filed Mar. 31, 1993, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/878,571 filed May 5, 1992, now abandoned; and

9. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/613,453 filed Jul. 3, 2003 which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/188,673 filed Jul. 3, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,738,697, which is:

b) a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/753,186 filed Jan. 2, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,080, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/137,918 filed Aug. 20, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,175,787, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/476,077 filed Jun. 7, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,437; and

a. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/891,432 filed Jun. 26, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,513,833, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/838,920 filed Apr. 20, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,778,672, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/563,556 filed May 3, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,683, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/437,535 filed Nov. 10, 1999 which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/047,703 filed Mar. 25, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,139, which is:

1) a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/640,068 filed Apr. 30, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,782, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/239,978 filed May 9, 1994, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/040,978 filed Mar. 31, 1993, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/878,571 filed May 5, 1992, now abandoned; and

2) a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/905,876 filed Aug. 4, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,802, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/505,036 filed Jul.21, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,462, which is a continuation of the 08/040,978 application which is a continuation-in-part of the 07/878,571 application;

1) a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/905,877 filed Aug. 4, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,537; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/505,036 filed Jul.25, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,462; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/040,978 filed Mar. 31, 1993, now abandoned; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/878,571 filed May 5, 1992, now abandoned;

2) a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/409,625 filed Oct. 1, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,116, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/905,877 filed Aug. 4, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,537; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/505,036 filed Jul. 25, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,462; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/040,978 filed Mar. 31, 1993, now abandoned; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/878,571 filed May 5, 1992, now abandoned;

3) a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/448,337 filed Nov.23, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,503, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/905,877 filed Aug. 4, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,537; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/505,036 filed Jul. 25, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,462; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/040,978 filed Mar. 31, 1993, now abandoned; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/878,571 filed May 5, 1992, now abandoned; and

4) a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/448,338 filed Nov.23, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,168,198, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/905,877 filed Aug. 4, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,537; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/505,036 filed Jul. 25, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,462; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/040,978 filed Mar. 31, 1993, now abandoned; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/878,571 filed May 5, 1992, now abandoned; and

c. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/543,678 filed Apr. 7, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,813, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/047,704 filed Mar. 25, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,638, which is:

1) a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/640,068 filed Apr. 30, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,782, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/239,978 filed May 9, 1994, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/040,978 filed Mar. 31, 1993, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/878,571 filed May 5, 1992, now abandoned; and

2) a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/905,876 filed Aug. 4, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,802, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/505,036 filed Jul. 21, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,462, which is a continuation of the 08/040,978 application which is a continuation-in-part of the 07/878,571 application; and

11. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/114,533 filed Apr. 2, 2002 which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/058,706 filed Jan. 28, 2002, the history of which is set forth above;

12. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/805,903 filed Mar. 22, 2004 which is a continuation-in-part of:

1. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/753,186 filed Jan. 2, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,080, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/137,918 filed Aug. 20, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,175,787, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/476,077 filed Jun. 7, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,437;

1. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/753,186 filed Jan. 2, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,080, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/137,918 filed Aug. 20, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,175,787, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/476,077 filed Jun. 7, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,437;

2) a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/389,947 filed Sep. 3, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,393,133, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/200,614, filed Nov. 30, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,141,432, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/474,786 filed Jun. 7, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,000;

b. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/925,043 filed Aug. 8, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,507,779, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/765,559 filed Jan. 19, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,553,296, and a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/389,947 filed Sep. 3, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,393,133;

15. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/061,016 filed Jan. 30, 2002 which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/901,879 filed Jul. 9, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,555,766, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/849,559 filed May 4, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,689,962, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/193,209 filed Nov. 17, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,701, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/128,490 filed Aug. 4, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,078,854, which is a continuation-in-part of: 1) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/474,783 filed Jun. 7, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,707; and 2) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/970,822 filed Nov. 14, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,757;

a. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/061,016 filed Jan. 30, 2002, the history of which is set forth above; and

b. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/500,346 filed Feb. 8, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,442,504; and

17. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/151,615 filed May 20, 2002 which is:

a. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/891,432, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,513,833, the history of which is set forth above;

b. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/639,299 filed Aug. 15, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,595, the history of which is set forth above; and

c. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/543,678 filed Apr. 7, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,813, the history of which is set forth above;

18. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/365,129 filed Feb. 12, 2003, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/114,533 filed Apr. 2, 2002, the history of which is set forth above; and

1. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/853,118 filed May 10, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,988, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/474,147 filed Dec. 29, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,397,136, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/382,406 filed Aug. 24, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,529,809, which:

a. is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/919,823, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,295, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/798,029 filed Feb. 6, 1997, now abandoned; and

m. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/302,105 filed Nov. 22, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,057, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/116,808 filed Apr. 5, 2002, the history of which is set forth above; and

n. a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/365,129 filed Feb. 12, 2003, the history of which is set forth above.

All of the above-referenced applications are incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the use of two or more imagers for monitoring the interior of a vehicle to obtain three-dimensional information relating to the contents or occupying objects of the vehicle.

The present invention also relates to occupant sensing in general and more particular to sensing characteristics or the classification of an occupant of a vehicle for the purpose of controlling a vehicular system, subsystem or component based on the sensed characteristics or classification.

The present invention also relates to an apparatus and method for measuring the seat weight including the weight of an occupying item of the vehicle seat and, more specifically, to a seat weight measuring apparatus having advantages including that the production cost and the assembling cost of such apparatus is lower than existing apparatus.

The present invention also relates to systems for remotely monitoring transportation assets and other movable and/or stationary items which have very low power requirements. In particular, the present invention relates to a system for attachment to shipping containers and other transportation assets which enables remote monitoring of the location, contents, properties and/or interior or exterior environment of shipping containers or other assets and transportation assets and, since it has a low power requirement, lasts for years without needing maintenance.

The present invention also relates to a tracking method and system for tracking shipping containers and other transportation assets and enabling recording of the travels of the shipping container or transportation asset.

The present invention also relates to methods and apparatus for diagnosing components in a vehicle and transmitting data relating to the diagnosis of the components in the vehicle and other information relating to the operating conditions of the vehicle to one or more remote locations distant from the vehicle, e.g., via a telematics link.

The present invention also relates to systems and method for diagnosing the state or condition of a vehicle, e.g., whether the vehicle is about to rollover or is experiencing a crash, and whether the vehicle has a component which is operating abnormally and could possibly fail resulting in a crash or severe handicap for the operator, and transmitting data relating to the diagnosis of the components in the vehicle and optionally other information relating to the operating conditions of the vehicle to one or more remote locations, e.g., via a telematics link.

The present invention further relates to methods and apparatus for diagnosing components in a vehicle and determining the status of occupants in a vehicle and transmitting data relating to the diagnosis of the components in the vehicle, and optionally other information relating to the operating conditions of the vehicle, and data relating to the occupants to one or more remote facilities such as a repair facility and an emergency response station.

The present invention relates to apparatus for obtaining information about an occupying item of a seat, in particular, a seat in an automotive vehicle.

The present invention also relates to apparatus and methods for adjusting a vehicle component, system or subsystem in which the occupancy of a seat, also referred to as the “seated state” herein, is evaluated using at least a weight measuring apparatus and the component, system or subsystem may then be adjusted based on the evaluated occupancy thereof. The vehicle component, system or subsystem, hereinafter referred to simply as a component, may be any adjustable component of the vehicle including, but not limited to, the bottom portion and backrest of the seat, the rear view and side mirrors, the brake, clutch and accelerator pedals, the steering wheel, the steering column, a seat armrest, a cup holder, the mounting unit for a cellular telephone or another communications or computing device and the visors. Further, the component may be a system such an as airbag system, the deployment or suppression of which is controlled based on the seated-state of the seat. The component may also be an adjustable portion of a system the operation of which might be advantageously adjusted based on the seated-state of the seat, such as a device for regulating the inflation or deflation of an airbag that is associated with an airbag system.

The present invention also relates to apparatus and method for automatically adjusting a vehicle component to a selected or optimum position for an occupant of a seat based on at least two measured morphological characteristics of the occupant, one of which is the weight of the occupant. Other morphological characteristics include the height of the occupant, the length of the occupant's arms, the length of the occupant's legs, the occupant's head diameter, facial features and the inclination of the occupant's back relative to the seat bottom. Other morphological characteristics are also envisioned for use in the invention including iris pattern properties from an iris scan, voice print and finger and hand prints.

The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for adjusting a steering wheel in a vehicle and more particularly, to apparatus and methods for adjusting a steering wheel based on the morphology of the driver, i.e., the driver's physical characteristics or dimensions.

The present invention also relates to apparatus and methods for adjusting a steering wheel in which the occupancy of a seat, also referred to as the “seated state” herein, is evaluated using at least a weight measuring apparatus and the steering wheel may then be adjusted based on the evaluated occupancy thereof.

The present invention also relates to apparatus and method for automatically adjusting a steering wheel to a selected or optimum position for a driver based on one or more measured morphological characteristics of the driver. Possible morphological characteristics include the height of the driver, the length of the driver's arms, the length of the driver's legs and the inclination of the driver's back relative to the seat bottom.

At least one of the inventions disclosed herein also relates a system and method for monitoring the presence of an obstacle in an aperture, specifically, an aperture in a vehicle, for the purpose of halting closure of the aperture when an obstacle is detected in the path of the closing member.

The present invention also relates to the field of sensing, detecting, monitoring and identifying various objects, and parts thereof, which are located within the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle. In particular, the present invention provides improvements to ultrasonic transducers, and electromagnetic transducers and systems of such transducers, which improve the speed and/or accuracy and tend to reduce the cost and complexity of systems and which are efficient and highly reliable for detecting a particular object such as a rear facing child seat (RFCS) situated in the passenger compartment in a location where it may interact with a deploying airbag, or for detecting an out-of-position occupant. This permits the selective suppression of airbag deployment when the deployment may result in greater injury to the occupant than the crash forces. In the alternative, it permits the tailoring of the airbag deployment to the particular occupant and in consideration of the position of the occupant. This is accomplished in part through (i) the use of a tubular mounting structure for the transducers; (ii) the use of electronic reduction or suppression of transducer ringing; (iii) the use of mechanical damping of the transducer cone, all three of which permits the use of a single transducer for both sending and receiving; (iv) the use of multiple frequencies thereby permitting the simultaneous transmission of all transducers thereby reducing the time and increasing the accuracy of dynamic occupant position measurements; (v) the use of shaped horns, grills and reflectors for the output of the transducers to precisely control the beam pattern and thereby minimizing false echoes; (vi) the use of a logarithmic compression amplifier to minimize the effects of thermal gradients in the vehicle; (vii) the use of a method of temperature compensation based on the change in transducer properties with temperature; and/or (viii) the use of a dual level network, one level for categorization and the second for occupant position sensing, to improve the accuracy of categorization and the speed of position measurement for dynamic out-of-position. The foregoing can be used individually or in combination with one another.

The present invention additionally relates generally to methods and arrangements for determining that there is a life form, i.e., a human being, in a vehicle and the location of the life form, i.e., in which seat the life form is situated.

More specifically, the present invention relates to methods and arrangement for obtaining information about occupancy of a vehicle and utilizing this information for some other purpose, e.g., to control various vehicular systems to benefit the occupants.

Even more specifically, the present invention relates to methods and arrangements for obtaining information about occupancy of a vehicle, in particular after a crash involving the vehicle, and conveying this information to response personnel to optimize their response to the crash and/or enable proper assistance to be rendered to the occupants after the crash.

The present invention also relates to methods and apparatus for controlling an occupant restraint system in a vehicle based in part on the diagnosed state of the vehicle in an attempt to minimize injury to an occupant.

The present invention also relates to methods and apparatus for disabling an airbag system in a motor vehicle if the seating position is unoccupied or an occupant is out-of-position, i.e., closer to the airbag door than a predetermined distance.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

All of the patents, patent applications, technical papers and other references referenced below are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety unless stated otherwise.

Crash sensors for determining that a vehicle is in a crash of sufficient magnitude as to require the deployment of an inflatable restraint system, or airbag, are either mounted in a portion of the front of the vehicle which has crushed by the time that sensor triggering is required, the crush zone, or elsewhere such as the passenger compartment, the non-crush zone. Regardless of where sensors are mounted, there will always be crashes where the sensor triggers late and the occupant has moved to a position near to the airbag deployment cover. In such cases, the occupant may be seriously injured or even killed by the deployment of the airbag. At least one of the inventions disclosed herein is largely concerned with preventing such injuries and deaths by preventing late airbag deployments.

In a Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) paper by Mertz, Driscoll, Lenox, Nyquist and Weber titled “Response of Animals Exposed to Deployment of Various Passenger Inflatable Restraint System Concepts for a Variety of Collision Severities and Animal Positions” SAE 826074, 1982, the authors show that an occupant can be killed or seriously injured by the airbag deployment if he or she is located out of position near or against the airbag when deployment is initiated. These conclusions were again reached in a more recent paper by Lau, Horsch, Viano and Andrzejak titled “Mechanism of Injury From Air Bag Deployment Loads”, published in Accident Analysis & Prevention, Vol. 25, No. 1, 1993, Pergamon Press, New York, where the authors conclude that “Even an inflator with inadequate gas output to protect a properly seated occupant had sufficient energy to induce severe injuries in a surrogate in contact with the inflating module.” These papers highlight the importance of preventing deployment of an airbag when an occupant is out of position and in close proximity to the airbag module.

The Ball-in-Tube crush zone sensor, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 04,974,350; U.S. Pat. No. 04,198,864; U.S. Pat. No. 04284863; U.S. Pat. No. 04,329,549; U.S. Pat. No. 04,573,706 and U.S. Pat. No. 04,900,880 to D. S. Breed, has achieved the widest use while other technologies, including magnetically damped sensors as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 04,933,515 to Behr et al and crush switch sensors such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 04,995,639 to D. S. Breed, are now becoming available. Other sensors based on spring-mass technologies are also being used in the crush zone. Crush zone mounted sensors, in order to function properly, must be located in the crush zone at the required trigger time during a crash or they can trigger late. One example of this was disclosed in a Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) paper by D. S. Breed and V. Castelli titled “Trends in Sensing Frontal Impacts”, SAE 890750, 1989, and further in U.S. Pat. No. 04,900,880. In impacts with soft objects, the crush of a vehicle can be significantly less than for impacts with barriers, for example. In such cases, even at moderate velocity changes where an airbag might be of help in mitigating injuries, the crush zone mounted sensor might not actually be in the crush zone at the time that sensor triggering is required for timely airbag deployment, and as a result can trigger late when the occupant is already resting against the airbag module.

There is a trend underway toward the implementation of Single Point Sensors (SPS) which are typically located in the passenger compartment. In theory, these sensors use sophisticated computer algorithms to determine that a particular crash is sufficiently severe as to require the deployment of an airbag. In another SAE paper by Breed, Sanders and Castelli titled “A Critique of Single Point Sensing”, SAE 920124, 1992, the authors demonstrate that there is insufficient information in the non-crush zone of the vehicle to permit a decision to be made to deploy an airbag in time for many crashes. Thus, sensors mounted in the passenger compartment or other non-crush zone locations, will also trigger the deployment of the airbag late on many crashes.

A crash sensor is necessarily a predictive device. In order to inflate the airbag in time, the inflation must be started before the full severity of the crash has developed. All predictive devices are subject to error, so that sometimes the airbag will be inflated when it is not needed and at other times it will not be inflated when it could have prevented injury. The accuracy of any predictive device can improve significantly when a longer time is available to gather and process the data. One purpose of the occupant position sensor is to make possible this additional time in those cases where the occupant is farther from the airbag module when the crash begins and/or where, due to seat belt use or otherwise, the occupant is moving toward the airbag module more slowly. In these cases the decision on whether to deploy the airbag can be deferred and a more precise determination made of whether the airbag is needed and the characteristics of such deployment

The discussions of timely airbag deployment above are all based on the seating position of the average male (the so called 50% male) relative to the airbag or steering wheel. For the 50% male, the sensor triggering requirement is typically calculated based on an allowable motion of the occupant of 5 inches before the airbag is fully inflated. Airbags typically require about 30 milliseconds of time to achieve full inflation and, therefore, the sensor must trigger inflation of the airbag 30 milliseconds before the occupant has moved forward 5 inches. The 50% male, however, is actually the 70% person and therefore about 70% of the population sit on average closer to the airbag than the 50% male and thus are exposed to a greater risk of interacting with the deploying airbag. A recent informal survey, for example, found that although the average male driver sits about 12 inches from the steering wheel, about 2% of the population of drivers sit closer than 6 inches from the steering wheel and 10% sit closer than 9 inches. Also, about 1% of drivers sit at about 24 inches and about 16% at least 18 inches from the steering wheel. None of the sensor systems now on the market take account of this variation in occupant seating position and yet this can have a critical effect on the sensor required maximum triggering time.

For example, if a fully inflated airbag is about 7 inches thick, measured from front to back, then any driver who is seated closer than 7 inches will necessarily interact with the deploying airbag and the airbag probably should not be deployed at all. For a recently analyzed 30 mph barrier crash of a mid-sized car, the sensor required triggering time, in order to allow the airbag to inflate fully before the driver becomes closer than 7 inches from the steering wheel, results in a maximum sensing time of 8 milliseconds for an occupant initially positioned 9 inches from the airbag, 25 milliseconds at 12 inches, 45 milliseconds at 18 inches and 57 milliseconds for the occupant who is initially positioned at 24 inches from the airbag. Thus for the same crash, the sensor required triggering time varies from a no trigger to 57 milliseconds, depending on the initial position of the occupant. A single sensor triggering time criterion that fails to take this into account, therefore, will cause injuries to small people or deny the protection of the airbag to larger people. A very significant improvement to the performance of an airbag system will necessarily result from taking the occupant position into account as described herein.

A further complication results from the fact that a greater number of occupants are now wearing seatbelts which tends to prevent many of these occupants from getting too close to the airbag. Thus, just knowing the initial position of the occupant is insufficient and either the position must be continuously monitored or the seatbelt use must be known. Also, the occupant may have fallen asleep or be unconscious prior to the crash and be resting against the steering wheel. Some sensor systems have been proposed that double integrate the acceleration pulse in the passenger compartment and determine the displacement of the occupant based on the calculated displacement of an unrestrained occupant seated at the mid seating position. This sensor system then prevents the deployment of the airbag if, by this calculation, the occupant is too close to the airbag. This calculation can be greatly in error for the different seating positions discussed above and also for the seat-belted occupant, and thus an occupant who wears a seatbelt could be denied the added protection of the airbag in a severe crash.

As the number of vehicles which are equipped with airbags is now rapidly increasing, the incidence of late deployments is also increasing. It has been estimated that out of approximately 400 airbag related complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) through 1991, for example, about 5% to 10% involved burns and injuries which were due to late airbag deployments. There are also at least three known fatalities where a late airbag deployment is suspected as the cause.

Automobiles equipped with airbags are well known in the prior art. In such airbag systems, the car crash is sensed and the airbags rapidly inflated thereby insuring the safety of an occupation in a car crash. Many lives have now been saved by such airbag systems. However, depending on the seated state of an occupant, there are cases where his or her life cannot be saved even by present airbag systems. For example, when a passenger is seated on the front passenger seat in a position other than a forward facing, normal state, e.g., when the passenger is out of position and near the deployment door of the airbag, there will be cases when the occupant will be seriously injured or even killed by the deployment of the airbag.

Also, sometimes a child seat is placed on the passenger seat in a rear facing position and there are cases where a child sitting in such a seat has been seriously injured or killed by the deployment of the airbag.

Furthermore, in the case of a vacant seat, there is no need to deploy an airbag and indeed deploying the airbag is undesirable due to a high replacement cost and possible release of toxic gases into the passenger compartment. Nevertheless, most airbag systems will deploy the airbag in a vehicle crash even if the seat is unoccupied.

Thus, whereas thousands of lives have been saved by airbags, a large number of people have also been injured, some seriously, by the deploying airbag, and over 100 people have now been killed. Thus, significant improvements need to be made to airbag systems. As discussed in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 05,653,462, for a variety of reasons vehicle occupants may be too close to the airbag before it deploys and can be seriously injured or killed as a result of the deployment thereof. Also, a child in a rear facing child seat that is placed on the right front passenger seat is in danger of being seriously injured if the passenger airbag deploys. For these reasons and, as first publicly disclosed in Breed, D. S. “How Airbags Work” presented at the International Conference on Seatbelts and Airbags in 1993 in Canada, occupant position sensing and rear facing child seat detection systems are required in order to minimize the damages caused by deploying front and side airbags. It also may be required in order to minimize the damage caused by the deployment of other types of occupant protection and/or restraint devices that might be installed in the vehicle.

For these reasons, there has been proposed an occupant sensor system also known as a seated-state detecting unit such as disclosed in the following U.S. patents assigned to the current assignee of the present application: Breed et al. U.S. Pat. No. 05,563,462, U.S. Pat. No. 05,829,782, U.S. Pat. No. 05,822,707, U.S. Pat. No. 05,694,320, U.S. Pat. No. 05,748,473, U.S. Pat. No. 06,078,854, U.S. Pat. No. 06,081,757 and U.S. Pat06242701 and Varga et al. U.S. Pat. No. 05,943,295. Typically, in some of these designs three or four sensors or sets of sensors are installed at three or four points in a vehicle for transmitting ultrasonic or electromagnetic waves toward the passenger or driver's seat and receiving the reflected waves. Using appropriate hardware and software, the approximate configuration of the occupancy of either the passenger or driver seat can be determined thereby identifying and categorizing the occupancy of the relevant seat. Of particular interest, the Breed et al. patents mention that the presence of a child in a rear facing child seat placed on the right front passenger seat may be detected as this has become an industry-wide concern to prevent deployment of an occupant restraint device in these situations. The U.S. automobile industry is continually searching for an easy, economical solution, which will prevent the deployment of the passenger side airbag if a rear facing child seat is present.

These systems will solve the out-of-position occupant and the rear facing child seat problems related to current airbag systems and prevent unneeded and unwanted airbag deployments when a front seat is unoccupied. Some of the airbag systems will also protect rear seat occupants in vehicle crashes and all occupants in side impacts.

However, there is a continual need to improve the systems which detect the presence of occupants, determine if they are out-of-position and to identify the presence of a rear facing child seat in the rear seat as well as the front seat. Future automobiles are expected to have eight or more airbags as protection is sought for rear seat occupants and from side impacts. In addition to eliminating the disturbance and possible harm of unnecessary airbag deployments, the cost of replacing these airbags will be excessive if they all deploy in an accident needlessly. The improvements described below minimize this cost by not deploying an airbag for a seat, which is not occupied by a human being. An occupying item of a seat may be a living occupant such as a human being or dog, another living organism such as a plant, or an inanimate object such as a box or bag of groceries.

The need for an occupant out-of-position sensor has also been observed by others and several methods have been described in certain U.S. patents for determining the position of an occupant of a motor vehicle. However, none of these prior art systems are believed to be capable of solving the many problems associated with occupant sensors and no prior art has been found that describe the methods of adapting such sensors to a particular vehicle model to obtain high system accuracy prior to the disclosure thereof by the current assignee. Also, none of these prior art systems employ operative and effective pattern recognition technologies that are believed to be essential to accurate occupant sensing. Each of these prior are systems will be discussed below.

In 1984, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation issued a requirement for frontal crash protection of automobile occupants known as FMVSS-208. This regulation mandated “passive occupant restraints” for all passenger cars by 1992. A further modification to FMVSS-208 required both driver and passenger side airbags on all passenger cars and light trucks by 1998. FMVSS-208 was later modified to require all vehicles to have occupant sensors. The demand for airbags is constantly accelerating in both Europe and Japan and all vehicles produced in these areas and eventually worldwide will likely be, if not already, equipped with airbags as standard equipment and eventually with occupant sensors.

A device to monitor the vehicle interior and identify its contents is needed to solve these and many other problems. For example, once a Vehicle Interior Identification and Monitoring System (VIMS) for identifying and monitoring the contents of a vehicle is in place, many other products become possible as discussed below.

Inflators now exist which will adjust the amount of gas flowing to the airbag to account for the size and position of the occupant and for the severity of the accident. The VIMS discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 05,829,782 can control such inflators based on the presence and position of vehicle occupants or of a rear facing child seat. The inventions here are improvements on that VIMS system and some use an advanced optical system comprising one or more CCD or CMOS arrays plus a source of illumination preferably combined with a trained neural network pattern recognition system.

In the early 1990's, the current assignee (ATI) developed a scanning laser radar optical occupant sensor that had the capability of creating a three-dimensional image of the contents of the passenger compartment. After proving feasibility, this effort was temporarily put aside due to the high cost of the system components and the current assignee then developed an ultrasonic-based occupant sensor that was commercialized and is now in production on some Jaguar models. The current assignee has long believed that optical systems would eventually become the technology of choice when the cost of optical components came down. This has now occurred and for the past several years, ATI has been developing a variety of optical occupant sensors.

The current assignee's first camera optical occupant sensing system was an adult zone-classification system that detected the position of the adult passenger. Based on the distance from the airbag, the passenger compartment was divided into three zones, namely safe-seating zone, at-risk zone, and keep-out zone. This system was implemented in a vehicle under a cooperative development program with NHTSA. This proof-of-concept was developed to handle low-light conditions only. It used three analog CMOS cameras and three near-infrared LED clusters. It also required a desktop computer with three image acquisition boards. The locations of the camera/LED modules were: the A-pillar, the instrument panel (IP), and near the overhead console. The system was trained to handle camera blockage situations, so that the system still functioned well even when two cameras were blocked. The processing speed of the system was close to 50 fps giving it the capability of tracking an occupant during pre-crash braking situations—that is a dynamic system.

The second camera optical system was an occupant classification system that separated adult occupants from all other situations (i.e., child, child restraint and empty seat). This system was implemented using the same hardware as the first camera optical system. It was also developed to handle low-light conditions only. The results of this proof-of-concept were also very promising.

Since the above systems functioned well even when two cameras were blocked, it was decided to develop a stand alone system that is FMVSS208-compliant, and price competitive with weight-based systems but with superior performance. Thus, a third camera optical system (for occupant classification) was developed. Unlike the earlier systems, this system used one digital CMOS camera and two high-power near-infrared LEDs. The camera/LED module was installed near the overhead console and the image data was processed using a laptop computer. This system was developed to divide the occupancy state into four classes: 1) adult; 2) child, booster seat and forward facing child seat; 3) infant carrier and rearward facing child seat; and 4) empty seat. This system included two subsystems: a nighttime subsystem for handling low-light conditions, and a daytime subsystem for handling ambient-light conditions. Although the performance of this system proved to be superior to the earlier systems, it exhibited some weakness mainly due to a non-ideal aiming direction of the camera.

Finally, a fourth camera optical system was implemented using near production intent hardware using, for example, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) to replace the laptop computer. In this system, the remaining problems of earlier systems were overcome. The hardware in this system is not unique so the focus below will be on algorithms and software which represent the innovative heart of the system.

1. Prior Art Occupant Sensors

The need for an occupant position sensor has been observed by others and several methods have been disclosed in U.S. patents for determining the position and velocity of an occupant of a motor vehicle. Each of these systems, however, has significant limitations. In White et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 05,071,160), a single acoustic sensor is described and, as illustrated, is disadvantageously mounted lower than the steering wheel. White et al. correctly perceive that such a sensor could be defeated, and the airbag falsely deployed (indicating that the system of White et al. deploys the airbag on occupant motion rather then suppressing it), by an occupant adjusting the control knobs on the radio and thus they suggest the use of a plurality of such sensors. White et al. does not disclose where such sensors would be mounted, other than on the instrument panel below the steering wheel, or how they would be combined to uniquely monitor particular locations in the passenger compartment and to identify the object(s) occupying those locations. The adaptation process to vehicles is not described nor is a combination of pattern recognition algorithms, nor any pattern recognition algorithm.

White et al. also describe the use of error correction circuitry, without defining or illustrating the circuitry, to differentiate between the velocity of one of the occupant's hands, as in the case where he/she is adjusting a knob on the radio, and the remainder of the occupant. Three ultrasonic sensors of the type disclosed by White et al. might, in some cases, accomplish this differentiation if two of them indicate that the occupant was not moving while the third indicates that he or she is moving. Such a combination, however, would not differentiate between an occupant with both hands and arms in the path of the ultrasonic transmitter at such a location that they are blocking a substantial view of the occupant's head or chest. Since the sizes and driving positions of occupants are extremely varied, trained pattern recognition systems, such as neural networks and combinations thereof, are required when a clear view of the occupant, unimpeded by his/her extremities, cannot be guaranteed. White et al. do not suggest the use of such neural networks.

Mattes et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 05,118,134) describe a variety of methods of measuring the change in position of an occupant including ultrasonic, active or passive infrared and microwave radar sensors, and an electric eye. The sensors measure the change in position of an occupant during a crash and use that information to access the severity of the crash and thereby decide whether or not to deploy the airbag. They are thus using the occupant motion as a crash sensor. No mention is made of determining the out-of-position status of the occupant or of any of the other features of occupant monitoring as disclosed in one or more of the current assignee's above-referenced patents and patent applications. Nowhere does Mattes et al. discuss how to use active or passive infrared to determine the position of the occupant. As pointed out in one or more of the current assignee's above-referenced patents and patent applications, direct occupant position measurement based on passive infrared is probably not possible with a single detector and, until very recently, was very difficult and expensive with active infrared requiring the modulation of an expensive GaAs infrared laser. Since there is no mention of these problems, the method of use contemplated by Mattes et al. must be similar to the electric eye concept where position is measured indirectly as the occupant passes by a plurality of longitudinally spaced-apart sensors.

The object of an occupant out-of-position sensor is to determine the location of the head and/or chest of the vehicle occupant in the passenger compartment relative to the occupant protection apparatus, such as an airbag, since it is the impact of either the head or chest with the deploying airbag that can result in serious injuries. Both White et al. and Mattes et al. disclose only lower mounting locations of their sensors that are mounted in front of the occupant such as on the dashboard/instrument panel or below the steering wheel. Both such mounting locations are particularly prone to detection errors due to positioning of the occupant's hands, arms and legs. This would require at least three, and preferably more, such sensors and detectors and an appropriate logic circuitry, or pattern recognition system, which ignores readings from some sensors if such readings are inconsistent with others for the case, for example, where the driver's arms are the closest objects to two of the sensors. The determination of the proper transducer mounting locations, aiming and field angles and pattern recognition system architectures for a particular vehicle model are not disclosed in either White et al. or Mattes et al. and are part of the vehicle model adaptation process described herein.

Fujita et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 05,074,583, describe another method of determining the position of the occupant but do not use this information to control and suppress deployment of an airbag if the occupant is out-of-position, or if a rear facing child seat is present. In fact, the closer that the occupant gets to the airbag, the faster the inflation rate of the airbag is according to the Fujita et al. patent, which thereby increases the possibility of injuring the occupant. Fujita et al. do not measure the occupant directly but instead determine his or her position indirectly from measurements of the seat position and the vertical size of the occupant relative to the seat. This occupant height is determined using an ultrasonic displacement sensor mounted directly above the occupant's head.

It is important to note that in all cases in the above-cited prior art, except those assigned to the current assignee of the instant invention, no mention is made of the method of determining transducer location, deriving the algorithms or other system parameters that allow the system to accurately identify and locate an object in the vehicle. In contrast, in one implementation of the instant invention, the return wave echo pattern corresponding to the entire portion of the passenger compartment volume of interest is analyzed from one or more transducers and sometimes combined with the output from other transducers, providing distance information to many points on the items occupying the passenger compartment.

Other patents describing occupant sensor systems include U.S. Pat. No. 05,482,314 (Corrado et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 05,890,085 (Corrado et al.). These patents, which were filed after the initial filings of the inventions herein and thus not necessarily prior art, describe a system for sensing the presence, position and type of an occupant in a seat of a vehicle for use in enabling or disabling a related airbag activator. A preferred implementation of the system includes two or more different but located together sensors which provide information about the occupant and this information is fused or combined in a microprocessor circuit to produce an output signal to the airbag controller. According to Corrado et al., the fusion process produces a decision as to whether to enable or disable the airbag with a higher reliability than a single phenomena sensor or non-fused multiple sensors. By fusing the information from the sensors to make a determination as to the deployment of the airbag, each sensor has only a partial effect on the ultimate deployment determination. The sensor fusion process is a crude pattern recognition process based on deriving the fusion “rules” by a trial and error process rather than by training.

The sensor fusion method of Corrado et al. requires that information from the sensors be combined prior to processing by an algorithm in the microprocessor. This combination can unnecessarily complicate the processing of the data from the sensors and other data processing methods can provide better results. For example, as discussed more fully below, it has been found to be advantageous to use a more efficient pattern recognition algorithm such as a combination of neural networks or fuzzy logic algorithms that are arranged to receive a separate stream of data from each sensor, without that data being combined with data from the other sensors (as in done in Corrado et al.) prior to analysis by the pattern recognition algorithms. In this regard, it is important to appreciate that sensor fusion is a form of pattern recognition but is not a neural network and that significant and fundamental differences exist between sensor fusion and neural networks. Thus, some embodiments of the invention described below differ from that of Corrado et al. because they include a microprocessor which is arranged to accept only a separate stream of data from each sensor such that the stream of data from the sensors are not combined with one another. Further, the microprocessor processes each separate stream of data independent of the processing of the other streams of data, that is, without the use of any fusion matrix as in Corrado et al.

1.1 Ultrasonics

The use of ultrasound for occupant sensing has many advantages and some drawbacks. It is economical in that ultrasonic transducers cost less than $1 in large quantities and the electronic circuits are relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture. However, the speed of sound limits the rate at which the position of the occupant can be updated to approximately 7 milliseconds, which though sufficient for most cases, is marginal if the position of the occupant is to be tracked during a vehicle crash. Secondly, ultrasound waves are diffracted by changes in air density that can occur when the heater or air conditioner is operated or when there is a high-speed flow of air past the transducer. Thirdly, the resolution of ultrasound is limited by its wavelength and by the transducers, which are high Q tuned devices. Typically, this resolution is on the order of about 2 to 3 inches. Finally, the fields from ultrasonic transducers are difficult to control so that reflections from unwanted objects or surfaces add noise to the data.

Ultrasonics can be used in several configurations for monitoring the interior of a passenger compartment of an automobile as described in the current assignee's above-referenced patents and patent applications and in particular in USRE37260 (a reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 05,943,295). Using the teachings here, the optimum number and location of the ultrasonic and/or optical transducers can be determined as part of the adaptation process for a particular vehicle model.

In the cases of inventions disclosed here, as discussed in more detail below, regardless of the number of transducers used, a trained pattern recognition system is preferably used to identify and classify, and in some cases to locate, the illuminated object and its constituent parts.

The ultrasonic system is the least expensive and potentially provides less information than the optical or radar systems due to the delays resulting from the speed of sound and due to the wave length which is considerably longer than the optical (including infrared) systems. The wavelength limits the detail that can be seen by the system. Additionally, ultrasonic waves are sometimes strongly affected by thermal gradients within the vehicle such as caused by flowing air from the heater or air conditioner or as caused by the sun heating the top of the vehicle resulting in the upper part of the passenger compartment having a higher temperature than the lower part. Thermal gradients cause density changes in the air, which diffract the ultrasonic signal sending in a direction away from an object or the transducer. Although this effect has been reported in the literature, no solution has been proposed prior to the present invention.

In spite of these limitations, ultrasonics can provide sufficient timely information to permit the position and velocity of an occupant to be accurately known and, when used with an appropriate pattern recognition system, it is capable of positively determining the presence of a rear facing child seat. One pattern recognition system that has been successfully used to identify a rear facing child seat employs neural networks and is similar to that described in papers by Gorman et al.

However, in the aforementioned literature using ultrasonics, the pattern of reflected ultrasonic waves from an adult occupant who may be out of position is sometimes similar to the pattern of reflected waves from a rear facing child seat. Also, it is sometimes difficult to discriminate the wave pattern of a normally seated child with the seat in a rear facing position from an empty seat with the seat in a more forward position. In other cases, the reflected wave pattern from a thin slouching adult with raised knees can be similar to that from a rear facing child seat. In still other cases, the reflected pattern from a passenger seat that is in a forward position can be similar to the reflected wave pattern from a seat containing a forward facing child seat or a child sitting on the passenger seat. In each of these cases, the prior art ultrasonic systems can suppress the deployment of an airbag when deployment is desired or, alternately, can enable deployment when deployment is not desired.

If the discrimination between these cases can be improved, then the reliability of the seated-state detecting unit can be improved and more people saved from death or serious injury. In addition, the unnecessary deployment of an airbag can be prevented.

Recently issued U.S. Pat. No. 06,411,202 (Gal et al.) describes a safety system for a vehicle including at least one sensor that receives waves from a region in an interior portion of the vehicle, which thereby defines a protected volume at least partially in front of the vehicle airbag. A processor is responsive to signals from the sensor for determining geometric data of objects in the protected volume. The teachings of this patent, which is based on ultrasonics, are arguably fully disclosed in the prior patents of the current assignee referenced above.

Significant improvements were made to the art in the current assignee's USRE37260 which describes the method of placement of the transducers to increase the reliability of detecting and discriminating out-of-position occupants, empty seats, and rear facing child-seats. In order to detect occupants that are very close to the transducer in that invention, separate transducers are used for sending and receiving the ultrasonic waves. Also, although that system is capable of detecting out-of-position occupants for most real world cases, in situations where the crash sensor fails to trigger or triggers very late in a high speed crash, the system based on alternately transmitting and receiving from each location can require as much as 50 milliseconds to determine the location of an occupant which can be too slow. The use of one or two transducers for ranging during the crash, giving 10 or 20 millisecond response time, works in most cases but can be defeated if the selected transducer is blocked by a newspaper, for example. Finally, the wide beam patterns of the transducers used in that system sometimes results in false decisions when an occupant of the rear seat is leaning forward, for example, and the system interprets that as an in-position, forward facing person even though in fact, it may be a rear facing child seat.

Regardless of the number of transducers used, a trained pattern recognition system, as defined herein, can be used to identify and classify, and in some cases to locate, the illuminated object and its constituent parts. The invention herein is partially directed toward improving the invention of USRE37260 by decreasing the sensing time, reducing the cost, improving the system response to objects which are close to the transducer mounting, and improving the ability of the system to compensate for thermal gradients and variations in the speed of sound.

1.2 Optics

Optics can be used in several configurations for monitoring the interior of a passenger compartment or exterior environment of an automobile. In one known method, a laser optical system uses a GaAs infrared laser beam to momentarily illuminate an object, occupant or child seat, in the manner as described and illustrated in FIG. 8 of U.S. Pat. No. 05,829,782. The receiver can be a charge-coupled device or CCD or a CMOS imager to receive the reflected light. The laser can either be used in a scanning mode, or, through the use of a lens, a cone of light can be created which covers a large portion of the object. In these configurations, the light can be accurately controlled to only illuminate particular positions of interest within or around the vehicle. In the scanning mode, the receiver need only comprise a single or a few active elements while in the case of the cone of light, an array of active elements is needed. The laser system has one additional significant advantage in that the distance to the illuminated object can be determined as disclosed in the commonly owned '462 patent as also described below. When a single receiving element is used, a PIN or avalanche diode is preferred.

In a simpler case, light generated by a non-coherent light emitting diode (LED) device is used to illuminate the desired area. In this case, the area covered is not as accurately controlled and a larger CCD or CMOS array is required. Recently, the cost of CCD and CMOS arrays has dropped substantially with the result that this configuration may now be the most cost-effective system for monitoring the passenger compartment as long as the distance from the transmitter to the objects is not needed. If this distance is required, then the laser system, a stereographic system, a focusing system, a combined ultrasonic and optic system, or a multiple CCD or CMOS array system as described herein is required. Alternately, a modulation system such as used with the laser distance system can be used with a CCD or CMOS camera and distance determined on a pixel by pixel basis.

The optical systems described herein are also applicable for many other sensing applications both inside and outside of the vehicle compartment such as for sensing crashes before they occur as described in U.S. Pat. No. 05,829,782, for a smart headlight adjustment system and for a blind spot monitor (also disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/851,362).

1.3 Ultrasonics and Optics

The laser systems described above are expensive due to the requirement that they be modulated at a high frequency if the distance from the airbag to the occupant, for example, is to be measured. Alternately, modulation of another light source, such as an LED, can be done and the distance measurement accomplished using a CCD or CMOS array on a pixel by pixel basis, as discussed below.

Both laser and non-laser optical systems in general are good at determining the location of objects within the two-dimensional plane of the image and a pulsed laser radar system in the scanning mode can determine the distance of each part of the image from the receiver by measuring the time of flight such as through range gating techniques. Distance can also be determined by using modulated electromagnetic radiation and measuring the phase difference between the transmitted and received waves. It is also possible to determine distance with a non-laser system by focusing, or stereographically if two spaced-apart receivers are used and, in some cases, the mere location in the field of view can be used to estimate the position relative to the airbag, for example. Finally, a recently developed pulsed quantum well diode laser also provides inexpensive distance measurements as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 06,324,453.

Acoustic systems are additionally quite effective at distance measurements since the relatively low speed of sound permits simple electronic circuits to be designed and minimal microprocessor capability is required. If a coordinate system is used where the z-axis is from the transducer to the occupant, acoustics are good at measuring z dimensions while simple optical systems using a single CCD or CMOS arrays are good at measuring x and y dimensions. The combination of acoustics and optics, therefore, permits all three measurements to be made from one location with low cost components as discussed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 05,845,000 and U.S. Pat. No. 05,835,613,

One example of a system using these ideas is an optical system which floods the passenger seat with infrared light coupled with a lens and a receiver array, e.g., CCD or CMOS array, which receives and displays the reflected light and an analog to digital converter (ADC) which digitizes the output of the CCD or CMOS and feeds it to an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) or other pattern recognition system for analysis. This system uses an ultrasonic transmitter and receiver for measuring the distances to the objects located in the passenger seat. The receiving transducer feeds its data into an ADC and from there, the converted data is directed into the ANN. The same ANN can be used for both systems thereby providing full three-dimensional data for the ANN to analyze. This system, using low cost components, will permit accurate identification and distance measurements not possible by either system acting alone. If a phased array system is added to the acoustic part of the system, the optical part can determine the location of the driver's ears, for example, and the phased array can direct a narrow beam to the location and determine the distance to the occupant's ears.

2. Adaptation

The adaptation of an occupant sensor system to a vehicle is the subject of a great deal of research and its own extensive body of knowledge as will be disclosed below. There is not believed to be any significant prior art in the field with the possible exception of the descriptions of sensor fusion methods in the Corrado et al. patents discussed above.

3. Mounting Locations for and Quantity of Transducers

There is little in the literature discussed herein concerning the mounting of cameras or other imagers or transducers in the vehicle other than in the current assignee's patents referenced above. Where camera mounting is mentioned, the general locations chosen are the instrument panel, roof or headliner, A-Pillar or rear view mirror assembly. Virtually no discussion is provided as to the methodology for choosing a particular location except in the current assignee's patents.

3.1 Single Camera, Dual Camera With Single Light Source

Farmer et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 06,005,958) describes a method and system for detecting the type and position of a vehicle occupant utilizing a single camera unit. The single camera unit is positioned at the driver or passenger side A-pillar in order to generate data of the front seating area of the vehicle. The type and position of the occupant is used to optimize the efficiency and safety in controlling deployment of an occupant protection device such as an air bag.

A single camera is, naturally, the least expensive solution but suffers from the problem that there is no easy method of obtaining three-dimensional information about people or objects in the passenger compartment. A second camera can be added, but to locate the same objects or features in the two images by conventional methods is computationally intensive unless the two cameras are close together. If they are close together, however, then the accuracy of the three dimensional information is compromised. Also, if they are not close together, then the tendency is to add separate illumination for each camera. An alternate solution is to use two cameras located at different positions in the passenger compartment and a single lighting source. This source can be located adjacent to one camera to minimize the installation sites. Since the LED illumination is now more expensive than the imager, the cost of the second camera does not add significantly to the system cost. The correlation of features can then be done using pattern recognition systems such as neural networks.

Two cameras also provide a significant protection from blockage and one or more additional cameras, with additional illumination, can be added to provide almost complete blockage protection.

3.2 Location of the Transducers

The only prior art for occupant sensor location for airbag control is White et al. and Mattes et al. discussed above. Both place their sensors below or on the instrument panel. The first disclosure of the use of cameras for occupant sensing is believed to appear in the current assignee's above-referenced patents. The first disclosure of the location of a camera anywhere and especially above the instrument panel such as on the A-pillar, roof or rear view mirror assembly also is believed to appear in the current assignee's above-referenced patents. Corrado U.S. Pat. No. 06,318,697 discloses the placement of a camera onto a special type of rear view mirror. DeLine U.S. Pat. No. 06,124,886 also discloses the placement of a video camera on a rear view mirror for sending pictures using visible light over a cell phone. The general concept of placement of such a transducer on a mirror, among other places, is believed to have been first disclosed in commonly assigned USRE037736 which also first discloses the use of an IR camera and IR illumination that is either co-located or located separately from the camera.

3.3 Color Cameras—Multispectral Imaging

The accurate detection, categorization and eventually recognition of an object in the passenger compartment are aided by using all available information. Initial camera-based systems are monochromic and use active and, in some cases, passive infrared. As microprocessors become more powerful and sensor systems improve, there will be a movement to broaden the observed spectrum to the visual spectrum and then further into the mid and far infrared parts of the spectrum. There is no known literature on this at this time except that provided by the current assignee below and in prior patents.

3.4 High Dynamic Range Cameras

The prior art of high dynamic range cameras centers around the work of the Fraunhofer-Inst. of Microelectronic Circuits & Systems in Duisburg, Germany and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, licensed to Photobit, and is reflected in several patents including U.S. Pat. No. 05,471,515, U.S. Pat. No. 05,608,204, U.S. Pat. No. 05635753, U.S. Pat. No. 05,892,541, U.S. Pat. No. 06,175,383, U.S. Pat. No. 06,215,428, U.S. Pat. No. 06,388,242, and U.S. Pat. No. 06,388,243. The current assignee is believed to be the first to recognize and apply this technology for occupant sensing as well as monitoring the environment surrounding the vehicle and thus there is not believed to be any prior art for this application of the technology.

Related to this is the work done at Columbia University by Professor Nayar as disclosed in PCT patent application WO0079784 assigned to Columbia University, which is also applicable to monitoring the interior and exterior of the vehicle. An excellent technical paper also describes this technique: Nayar, S. K. and Mitsunaga, T. “High Dynamic Range Imaging: Spatially Varying Pixel Exposures” Proceedings of IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, South Carolina, June 2000. Again, there does not appear to be any prior art that predates the disclosure of this application of the technology by the current assignee.

A paper entitled “A 256×256 CMOS Brightness Adaptive Imaging Array with Column-Parallel Digital Output” by C. Sodini et al., 1988 IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Vehicles, describes a CMOS image sensor for intelligent transportation system applications such as adaptive cruise control and traffic monitoring. Among the purported novelties is the use of a technique for increasing the dynamic range in a CMOS imager by a factor of approximately 20, which technique is based on a previously described technique for CCD imagers.

Waxman et al. U.S. Pat. No. 05,909,244 discloses a novel high dynamic range camera that can be used in low light situations with a frame rate >25 frames per second for monitoring either the interior or exterior of a vehicle. It is suggested that this camera can be used for automotive navigation but no mention is made of its use for safety monitoring. Similarly, Savoye et al. U.S. Pat. No. 05,880,777 disclose a high dynamic range imaging system similar to that described in the '244 patent that could be employed in the inventions disclosed herein.

There are numerous technical papers of high dynamic range cameras and some recent ones discuss automotive applications, after the concept was first discussed in the current assignee's patents and patent applications. One recent example is T. Lulé, H. Keller, M. Wagner, M. Böhm, C. D. Hamann, L. Humm, U. Efron, “100.000 Pixel 120 dB Imager for Automotive Vision”, presented in the Proceedings of the Conference on Advanced Microsystems for Automotive Applications (AMAA), Berlin, 18./19. Mar. 1999. This paper discusses the desirability of a high dynamic range camera and points out that an integration-based method is preferable to a logarithmic system in that greater contrast is potentially obtained. This brings up the question as to what dynamic range is really needed. The current assignee has considered desiring a high dynamic range camera but after more careful consideration, it is really the dynamic range within a given image that is important and that is usually substantially below 120 db, and in fact, a standard 70+ db camera is fine for most purposes.

As long as the shutter or an iris can be controlled to chose where the dynamic range starts, then, for night imaging a source of illumination is generally used and for imaging in daylight, the shutter time or iris can be substantially controlled to provide an adequate image. For those few cases where there is a very bright sunlight entering the vehicle's window but the interior is otherwise in shade, multiple exposures can provide the desired contrast as taught by Nayar and discussed above. This is not to say that a high dynamic range camera is inherently bad, just to illustrate that there are many technologies that can be used to accomplish the same goal.

3.5 Fisheye Lens, Pan and Zoom

There is significant prior art on the use of a fisheye or similar high viewing angle lens and a non-moving pan, tilt, rotation and zoom cameras; however, there appears to be no prior art on the application of these technologies to sensing inside or outside of the vehicle prior to the disclosure by the current assignee. One significant patent is U.S. Pat. No. 05,185,667 to Zimmermann. For some applications, the use of a fisheye type lens can significantly reduce the number of imaging devices that are required to monitor the interior or exterior of a vehicle. An important point is that whereas for human viewing, the images are usually mathematically corrected to provide a recognizable view, when a pattern recognition system such as a neural network is used, it is frequently not necessary to perform this correction, thus simplifying the analysis.

Recently, a paper has been published that describes the fisheye camera system disclosed years ago by the current assignee: V. Ramesh, M. Greiffenhagen, S. Boverie, A. Giratt, “Real-Time Surveillance and Monitoring for Automotive Applications”, SAE 2000-01-0347.

4. 3D Cameras

4.1 Stereo

European Patent Application No. EP0885782A1 describes a purportedly novel motor vehicle control system including a pair of cameras which operatively produce first and second images of a passenger area. A distance processor determines the distances that a plurality of features in the first and second images are from the cameras based on the amount that each feature is shifted between the first and second images. An analyzer processes the determined distances and determines the size of an object on the seat. Additional analysis of the distance also may determine movement of the object and the rate of movement. The distance information also can be used to recognize predefined patterns in the images and thus identify objects. An air bag controller utilizes the determined object characteristics in controlling deployment of the air bag.

Simoncelli in U.S. Pat. No. 05,703,677 discloses an apparatus and method using a single lens and single camera with a pair of masks to obtain three-dimensional information about a scene.

A paper entitled “Sensing Automobile Occupant Position with Optical Triangulation” by W. Chappelle, Sensors, December 1995, describes the use of optical triangulation techniques for determining the presence and position of people or rear-facing infant seats in the passenger compartment of a vehicle in order to guarantee the safe deployment of an air bag. The paper describes a system called the “Takata Safety Shield” which purportedly makes high-speed distance measurements from the point of air bag deployment using a modulated infrared beam projected from an LED source. Two detectors are provided, each consisting of an imaging lens and a position-sensing detector.

A paper entitled “An Interior Compartment Protection System based on Motion Detection Using CMOS Imagers” by S. B. Park et al., 1998 IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Vehicles, describes a purportedly novel image processing system based on a CMOS image sensor installed at the car roof for interior compartment monitoring including theft prevention and object recognition. One disclosed camera system is based on a CMOS image sensor and a near infrared (NIR) light emitting diode (LED) array.

Krumm (U.S. Pat. No. 05,983,147) describes a system for determining the occupancy of a passenger compartment including a pair of cameras mounted so as to obtain binocular stereo images of the same location in the passenger compartment. A representation of the output from the cameras is compared to stored representations of known occupants and occupancy situations to determine which stored representation the output from the cameras most closely approximates. The stored representations include that of the presence or absence of a person or an infant seat in the front passenger seat.

The use of stereo systems for occupant sensing was first described by the current assignee in RE37736, U.S. Pat. No. 05,845,000, U.S. Pat. No. 05835613, U.S. Pat. No. 06,186,537, and U.S. Pat. No. 05,848,802 among others.

4.2 Distance by Focusing

A mechanical focusing system, such as used on some camera systems, can determine the initial position of an occupant but is currently too slow to monitor his/her position during a crash or even during pre-crash braking. Although the example of an occupant is used here as an example, the same or similar principles apply to objects exterior to the vehicle. This is a result of the mechanical motions required to operate the lens focusing system, however, methods do exist that do not require mechanical motions. By itself, it cannot determine the presence of a rear facing child seat or of an occupant but when used with a charge-coupled or CMOS device plus some infrared illumination for vision at night, and an appropriate pattern recognition system, this becomes possible. Similarly, the use of three-dimensional cameras based on modulated waves or range-gated pulsed light methods combined with pattern recognition systems are now possible based on the teachings of the inventions disclosed herein and the commonly assigned patents and patent applications referenced above.

U.S. Pat. No. 06,198,998 to Farmer discloses a single IR camera mounted on the A-Pillar where a side view of the contents of the passenger compartment can be obtained. A sort of three-dimensional view is obtained by using a narrow depth of focus lens and a de-blurring filter. IR is used to illuminate the volume and the use of a pattern on the LED to create a sort of structured light is also disclosed. Pattern recognition by correlation is also discussed.

U.S. Pat. No. 06,229,134 to Nayar et al. is an excellent example of the determination of the three-dimensional shape of an object using active blurring and focusing methods. The use of structured light is also disclosed in this patent. The method uses illumination of the scene with a pattern and two images of the scene are sensed with different imaging parameters.

A distance measuring system based on focusing is described in U.S. Pat. No. 05,193,124 and U.S. Pat. No. 05,231,443 (Subbarao) that can either be used with a mechanical focusing system or with two cameras, the latter of which would be fast enough to allow tracking of an occupant during pre-crash braking and perhaps even during a crash depending on the field of view that is analyzed. Although the Subbarao patents provide a good discussion of the camera focusing art, it is a more complicated system than is needed for practicing the instant inventions. In fact, a neural network can also be trained to perform the distance determination based on the two images taken with different camera settings or from two adjacent CCD's and lens having different properties as the cameras disclosed in Subbarao making this technique practical for the purposes herein. Distance can also be determined by the system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 05,003,166 (Girod) by spreading or defocusing a pattern of structured light projected onto the object of interest. Distance can also be measured by using time of flight measurements of the electromagnetic waves or by multiple CCD or CMOS arrays as is a principle teaching of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein.

Dowski, Jr. in U.S. Pat. No. 05,227,890 provides an automatic focusing system for video cameras which can be used to determine distance and thus enable the creation of a three-dimensional image.

A good description of a camera focusing system is found in G. Zorpette, “Focusing in a flash”, Scientific American, August 2000.

In each of these cases, regardless of the distance measurement system used, a trained pattern recognition system, as defined above, can be used to identify and classify, and in some cases to locate, the illuminated object and its constituent parts.

4.3 Ranging

Cameras can be used for obtaining three dimensional images by modulation of the illumination as described in U.S. Pat. No. 05,162,861. The use of a ranging device for occupant sensing is believed to have been first disclosed by the current assignee in the patents mentioned herein. More recent attempts include the PMD camera as disclosed in PCT application WO09810255 and similar concepts disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 06,057,909 and U.S. Pat. No. 06,100,517.

A paper by Rudolf Schwarte, et al. entitled “New Powerful Sensory Tool in Automotive Safety Systems Based on PMD-Technology”, Eds. S. Krueger, W. Gessner, Proceedings of the AMAA 2000 Advanced Microsystems for Automotive Applications 2000, Springer Verlag; Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, ISBN 3-540-67087-4, describes an implementation of the teachings of the instant invention wherein a modulated light source is used in conjunction with phase determination circuitry to locate the distance to objects in the image on a pixel by pixel basis. This camera is an active pixel camera the use of which for internal and external vehicle monitoring is also a teaching of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein. The novel feature of the PMD camera is that the pixels are designed to provide a distance measuring capability within each pixel itself. This then is a novel application of the active pixel and distance measuring teachings of the instant invention.

“Seeing distances-a fast time-of-flight 3D camera “, Sensor Review, Vol. 20, No. 3, 2000, presents a time-of-flight camera that also can be used for internal and external monitoring. Similarly, see “Electro-optical correlation arrangement for fast 3D cameras: properties and facilities of the electro-optical mixer device”, SPIE Vol. 3100, 1997 pp. 254-60. A significant improvement to the PMD technology and to all distance by modulation technologies is to modulate with a code, which can be random or pseudo random, that permits accurate distance measurements over a long range using correlation or other technology. There is a question as to whether there is a need to individually modulate each pixel with the sent signal since the same effect can be achieved using a known Pockel or Kerr cell that covers the entire imager, which should be simpler.

The instant invention as described in the above-referenced commonly assigned patents and patent applications, teaches the use of modulating the light used to illuminate an object and to determine the distance to that object based on the phase difference between the reflected radiation and the transmitted radiation. The illumination can be modulated at a single frequency when short distances such as within the passenger compartment are to be measured. Typically, the modulation wavelength would be selected such that one wave would have a length of approximately one meter or less. This would provide resolution of I cm or less.

For larger vehicles, a longer wavelength would be desirable. For measuring longer distances, the illumination can be modulated at more than one frequency to eliminate cycle ambiguity if there is more than one cycle between the source of illumination and the illuminated object. This technique is particularly desirable when monitoring objects exterior to the vehicle to permit accurate measurements of devices that are hundreds of meters from the vehicle as well as those that are a few meters away. Naturally, there are other modulation methods that eliminate the cycle ambiguity such as modulation with a code that is used with a correlation function to determine the phase shift or time delay. This code can be a pseudo random number in order to permit the unambiguous monitoring of the vehicle exterior in the presence of other vehicles with the same system. This is sometimes known as noise radar, noise modulation (either of optical or radar signals), ultra wideband (UWB) or the techniques used in Micropower impulse radar (MIR). Another key advantage is to permit the separation of signals from multiple vehicles.

Although a simple frequency modulation scheme has been disclosed so far, it is also possible to use other coding techniques including the coding of the illumination with one of a variety of correlation patterns including a pseudo-random code. Similarly, although frequency and code domain systems have been described, time domain systems are also applicable wherein a pulse of light is emitted and the time of flight measured. Additionally, in the frequency domain case, a chirp can be emitted and the reflected light compared in frequency with the chirp to determine the distance to the object by frequency difference. Although each of these techniques is known to those skilled in the art, they have previously heretofore not been applied for monitoring objects within or outside of a vehicle.

4.4 Pockel or Kerr Cells for Determining Range

The technology for modulating a light valve or electronic shutter has been known for many years and is sometimes referred to as a Kerr cell or a Pockel cell. These devices are capable of being modulated at up to 10 billion cycles per second. For determining the distance to an occupant or his or her features, modulations between 100 and 500 MHz are needed. The higher the modulation frequency, the more accurate the distance to the object can be determined. However, if more than one wavelength, or better one-quarter wavelength, exists between the camera and the object, then ambiguities result. On the other hand, once a longer wavelength has ascertained the approximate location of the feature, then more accurate determinations can be made by increasing the modulation frequency since the ambiguity will now have been removed. In practice, only a single frequency is used of about 300 MHz. This gives a wavelength of I meter, which can allow cm level distance determinations.

In one preferred embodiment of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein, an infrared LED is modulated at a frequency between 100 and 500 MHz and the returning light passes through a light valve such that amount of light that impinges on the CMOS array pixels is determined by a phase difference between the light valve and the reflected light. By modulating a light valve for one frame and leaving the light valve transparent for a subsequent frame, the range to every point in the camera field of view can be determined based on the relative brightness of the corresponding pixels.

Once the range to all of the pixels in the camera view has been determined, range-gating becomes a simple mathematical exercise and permits objects in the image to be easily separated for feature extraction processing. In this manner, many objects in the passenger compartment can be separated and identified independently.

Noise, pseudo noise or code modulation techniques can be used in place of the frequency modulation discussed above. This can be in the form of frequency, amplitude or pulse modulation.

No prior art is believed to exist on this concept.

4.5 Thin Film on ASIC (TFA)

Thin film on ASIC technology, as described in Lake, D. W. “TFA Technology: The Coming Revolution in Photography”, Advanced Imaging Magazine, April, 2002 (WWW.ADVANCEDIMAGINGMAG.COM) shows promise of being the next generation of imager for automotive applications. The anticipated specifications for this technology, as reported in the Lake article, are:

Dynamic Range

120 db

Sensitivity

0.01 lux

Anti-blooming

1,000,000:1

Pixel Density

3,200,000

Pixel Size

3.5 um

Frame Rate

30 fps

DC Voltage

1.8 v

Compression

500 to 1

All of these specifications, except for the frame rate, are attractive for occupant sensing. It is believed that the frame rate can be improved with subsequent generations of the technology or more than one imager can be used. Some advantages of this technology for occupant sensing include the possibility of obtaining a three-dimensional image by varying the pixel in time in relation to a modulated illumination in a simpler manner than proposed with the PMD imager or with a Pockel or Kerr cell. The ability to build the entire package on one chip will reduce the cost of this imager compared with two or more chips required by current technology.

U.S. Pat. No. 05,298,732 and U.S. Pat. No. 05,714,751 to Chen concentrate on locating the eyes of the driver so as to position a light filter between a light source such as the sun or the lights of an oncoming vehicle, and the driver's eyes. This patent will be discussed in more detail below. U.S. Pat. No. 05,305,012 to Faris also describes a system for reducing the glare from the headlights of an oncoming vehicle and it is discussed in more detail below.

5.1 Windshield

Using an advanced occupant sensor, as explained below, the position of the driver's eyes can be accurately determined and portions of the windshield, or of a special visor, can be selectively darkened to eliminate the glare from the sun or oncoming vehicle headlights. This system can use electro-chromic glass, a liquid crystal device, Xerox Gyricon, Research Frontiers SPD, semiconducting and metallic (organic) polymer displays, spatial light monitors, electronic “Venetian blinds”, electronic polarizers or other appropriate technology, and, in some cases, detectors to detect the direction of the offending light source. In addition to eliminating the glare, the standard sun visor can now also be eliminated. Alternately, the glare filter can be placed in another device such as a transparent sun visor that is placed between the driver's eyes and the windshield.

There is no known prior art that places a filter in the windshield. All known designs use an auxiliary system such as a liquid crystal panel that acts like a light valve on a pixel by pixel basis.

A description of SPD can be found at SmartGlass.com and in “New ‘Smart’ glass darkens, lightens in a flash”, Automotive News, Aug. 21, 1998.

5.2 Glare in Rear View Mirrors

There is no known prior art that places a pixel-addressable filter in a rear view mirror to selectively block glare or for any other purpose.

5.3 Visor for Glare Control and HUD

The prior art related to visors for glare control and heads-up displays includes U.S. Pat. No. 04,874,938, U.S. Pat. No. 05,298,732, U.S. Pat. No. 05,305,012 and U.S. Pat. No. 05,714,751 which are discussed elsewhere herein.

6. Weight Measurement and Biometrics

Prior art systems are now being used to identify the vehicle occupant based on a coded key or other object carried by the occupant. This requires special sensors within the vehicle to recognize the coded object. Also, the system only works if the particular person for whom the vehicle was programmed uses the coded object. If a son or daughter, for example, who is using their mother's key, uses the vehicle, then the wrong seat, mirror, radio station etc. adjustments are made. Also, these systems preserve the choice of seat position without any regard for the correctness of the seat position. With the problems associated with the 4-way seats, it is unlikely that the occupant ever properly adjusts the seat. Therefore, the error in seat position will be repeated every time the occupant uses the vehicle.

These coded systems are a crude attempt to identify the occupant. An improvement can be made if morphological (or biological) characteristics of the occupant can be measured as described herein. Such measurements can be made of the height and weight, for example, and used not only to adjust a vehicular component to a proper position but also to remember that position, as fine tuned by the occupant, for re-positioning the component the next time the occupant occupies the seat. No prior art is believed to exist on this aspect of the invention. Additional biometrics includes physical and behavioral responses of the eyes, hands, face and voice. Iris and retinal scans are discussed in the literature but the shape of the eyes or hands, structure of the face or hands, how a person blinks or squints, the shape of the hands, how he or she grasps the steering wheel, the electrical conductivity or dielectric constant, blood vessel pattern in the hands, fingers, face or elsewhere, the temperature and temperature differences of different areas of the body, the natural effluent or odor of the person are among the many biometric variables that can be measures to identify an authorized user of a vehicle, for example.

As discussed more fully below, in a preferred implementation, once at least one and preferably two of the morphological characteristics of a driver are determined, for example by measuring his or her height and weight, the component such as the seat can be adjusted and other features or components can be incorporated into the system including, for example, the automatic adjustment of the rear view and/or side mirrors based on seat position and occupant height.

In addition, a determination of an out-of-position occupant can be made and based thereon, airbag deployment suppressed if the occupant is more likely to be injured by the airbag than by the accident without the protection of the airbag. Furthermore, the characteristics of the airbag, including the amount of gas produced by the inflator and the size of the airbag exit orifices, can be adjusted to provide better protection for small lightweight occupants as well as large, heavy people. Even the direction of the airbag deployment can, in some cases, be controlled. The prior art is limited to airbag suppression as disclosed in Mattes (U.S. Pat. No. 05,118,134) and White (U.S. Pat. No. 05,071,160) discussed above.

Still other features or components can now be adjusted based on the measured occupant morphology as well as the fact that the occupant can now be identified. Some of these features or components include the adjustment of seat armrest, cup holder, steering wheel (angle and telescoping), pedals, phone location and for that matter, the adjustment of all things in the vehicle which a person must reach or interact with. Some items that depend on personal preferences can also be automatically adjusted including the radio station, temperature, ride and others.

6.1 Strain Gage Weight Sensors

Previously, various methods have been proposed for measuring the weight of an occupying item of a vehicular seat. The methods include pads, sheets or films that have placed in the seat cushion which attempt to measure the pressure distribution of the occupying item. Prior to its first disclosure in Breed et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 05,822,707), systems for measuring occupant weight based on the strain in the seat structure had not been considered. Prior art weight measurement systems have been notoriously inaccurate. Thus, a more accurate weight measuring system is desirable. The strain measurement systems described herein, substantially eliminate the inaccuracy problems of prior art systems and permit an accurate determination of the weight of the occupying item of the vehicle seat. Additionally, as disclosed herein, in many cases, sufficient information can be obtained for the control of a vehicle component without the necessity of determining the entire weight of the occupant. For example, the force that the occupant exerts on one of the three support members may be sufficient.

A recent U.S. patent application, Publication No. 2003/0168895, is interesting in that it is the first example of the use of time and the opening and closing of a vehicle door to help in the post-processing decision making for distinguishing a child restraint system (CRS) from an adult. This system is based on a load cell (strain gage) weight measuring system.

Automotive vehicles are equipped with seat belts and air bags as equipment for ensuring the safety of the passenger. In recent years, an effort has been underway to enhance the performance of the seat belt and/or the air bag by controlling these devices in accordance with the weight or the posture of the passenger. For example, the quantity of gas used to deploy the air bag or the speed of deployment could be controlled. Further, the amount of pretension of the seat belt could be adjusted in accordance with the weight and posture of the passenger. To this end, it is necessary to know the weight of the passenger sitting on the seat by some technique. The position of the center of gravity of the passenger sitting on the seat could also be referenced in order to estimate the posture of the passenger.

As an example of a technique to determine the weight or the center of gravity of the passenger of this type, a method of measuring the seat weight including the passenger's weight by disposing the load sensors (load cells) at the front, rear, left and right corners under the seat and summing vertical loads applied to the load cells has been disclosed in the assignee's numerous patents and patent applications on occupant sensing.

Since a seat weight measuring apparatus of this type is intended for use in general automotive vehicles, the cost of the apparatus must be as low as possible. In addition, the wiring and assembly also must be easy. Keeping such considerations in mind, the object of the present invention is to provide a seat weight measuring apparatus having such advantages that the production cost and the assembling cost may be reduced. To provide new and improved vehicular seats in which the weight applied by an occupying item to the seat is measured based on capacitance between conductive and/or metallic members underlying the seat cushion.

A further object of an invention herein is to provide new and improved adjustment apparatus and methods that evaluate the occupancy of the seat and adjust the location and/or orientation relative to the occupant and/or operation of a part of the component or the component in its entirety based on the evaluated occupancy of the seat and on a measurement of the occupant's weight or a measurement of a force exerted by the occupant on the seat.

6.2 Bladder Weight Sensors

Similarly to strain gage weight sensors, the first disclosure of weight sensors based of the pressure in a bladder in or under the seat cushion is believed to have been made in Breed et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 05,822,707) filed Jun. 7, 1995 by the current assignee.

A bladder is disclosed in WO0983041 1, which claims the benefit of a U.S. provisional application filed on Jan. 7, 1998 showing two bladders. This patent application is assigned to Automotive Systems Laboratory and is part of a series of bladder based weight sensor patents and applications all of which were filed significantly after the current assignee's bladder weight sensor patent applications, the earliest filing date being in 1997.

Also U.S. Pat. No. 04,957,286 illustrates a single chamber bladder sensor for an exercise bicycle which measures the weight of a person as he or she in exercising but is not used in a vehicle nor is it used for controlling a safety device or any other component. EP0345806 illustrates a bladder in an automobile seat for the purpose of adjusting the shape of the seat. Although a pressure switch is provided, no attempt is made to measure the weight of the occupant and there is no mention of using the weight to control a vehicle component. IEE of Luxemburg and others have marketed seat sensors that measure the pattern on the object contacting the seat surface but none of these sensors purport to measure the weight of an occupying item of the seat.

6.3 Dynamic Weight Sensing

There does not appear to be any prior art regarding the use of the motion of the vehicle and its contents to dynamically measure the weight of an occupying item.

6.4 Combined Spatial and Weight Sensors

The combination of a weight sensor with a spatial sensor, such as the wave or electric field sensors discussed herein, permits the most accurate determination of the airbag requirements when the crash sensor output is also considered. There is not believed to be any prior art of such a combination. A recent patent, which is not considered prior art, that discloses a similar concept is U.S. Pat. No. 06,609,055.

6.5 Face Recognition (Face and Iris IR Scans)

Ishikawa et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 04,625,329) describes an image analyzer (M5 in FIG. 1) for analyzing the position of driver based on the position of the driver's face, including an infrared light source which illuminates the driver's face and an image detector which receives light from the driver's face, determines the position of facial feature, e.g., the eyes in three dimensions, and thus determines the position of the driver's face in three dimensions. A pattern recognition process is used to determine the position of the facial features and entails converting the pixels forming the image to either black or white based on intensity and conducting an analysis based on the white area in order to find the largest contiguous white area and the center point thereof. Based on the location of the center point of the largest contiguous white area, the driver's height is derived and a heads-up display is adjusted so information is within driver's field of view. The pattern recognition process can be applied to detect the eyes, mouth, or nose of the driver based on the differentiation between the white and black areas. Ishikawa does not attempt to recognize the driver or to determine the location of the driver relative to an airbag or any other vehicle component.

Ando (U.S. Pat. No. 05,008,946) describes a system which recognizes an image and specifically ascertains the position of the pupils and mouth of the occupant to enable movement of the pupils and mouth to control electrical devices installed in the automobile. The system includes a camera which takes a picture of the occupant and applies algorithms based on pattern recognition techniques to analyze the picture, converted into an electrical signal, to determine the position of certain portions of the image, namely the pupils and mouth. Ando also does not attempt to recognize the driver.

Puma (U.S. Pat. No. 05,729,619) describes apparatus and methods for determining the identity of a vehicle operator and whether he or she is intoxicated or falling asleep. Puma uses an iris scan as the identification method and thus requires the driver to place his eyes in a particular position relative to the camera. Intoxication is determined by monitoring the spectral emission from the driver's eyes and drowsiness is determined by monitoring a variety of behaviors of the driver. The identification of the driver by any means is believed to have been first disclosed in the current assignee's patents referenced above as was identifying the impairment of the driver whether by alcohol, drugs or drowsiness through monitoring driver behavior and using pattern recognition. Puma uses pattern recognition but not neural networks although correlation analysis is implied as also taught in the current assignee's prior patents.

Other patents on eye tracking include Moran et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 04847486) and Hutchinson (U.S. Pat. No. 04,950,069). In Moran et al., a scanner is used to project a beam onto the eyes of the person and the reflection from the retina through the cornea is monitored to measure the time that the person's eyes are closed. In Hutchinson, the eye of a computer operator is illuminated with light from an infrared LED and the reflected light causes bright eye effect which outlines the pupil brighter than the rest of the eye and also causes an even brighter reflection from the cornea.

By observing this reflection in the camera's field of view, the direction in which the eye is pointing can be determined. In this manner, the motion of the eye can control operation of the computer. Similarly, such apparatus can be used to control various functions within the vehicle such as the telephone, radio, and heating and air conditioning.

U.S. Pat. No. 05,867,587 to Aboutalib et al. also describes a drowsy driver detection unit based on the frequency of eye blinks where an eye blink is determined by correlation analysis with averaged previous states of the eye. U.S. Pat. No. 06,082,858 to Grace describes the use of two frequencies of light to monitor the eyes, one that is totally absorbed by the eye (950 nm) and another that is not and where both are equally reflected by the rest of the face. Thus, subtraction leaves only the eyes. An alternative, not disclosed by Aboutalib et al. or Grace, is to use natural light or a broad frequency spectrum and a filter to filter out all frequencies except 950 nm and then to proportion the intensities. U.S. Pat. No. 06,097,295 to Griesinger also attempts to determine the alertness of the driver by monitoring the pupil size and the eye shutting frequency. U.S. Pat. No. 06,091,334 uses measurements of saccade frequency, saccade speed, and blinking measurements to determine drowsiness. No attempt is made in any of these patents to locate the driver in the vehicle.

Since the direction of gaze of the eyes is quite precise and relatively easily measured, it can be used to control many functions in the vehicle such as the telephone, lights, windows, HVAC, navigation and route guidance system, and telematics among others. Many of these functions can be combined with a heads-up display and the eye gaze can replace the mouse in selecting many functions and among many choices. It can also be combined with an accurate mapping system to display on a convenient display the writing on a sign that might be hard to read such as a street sign. It can even display the street name when a sign is not present. A gaze at a building can elicit a response providing the address of the building or some information about the building which can be provided either orally or visually. Looking at the speedometer can elicit a response as the local speed limit and looking at the fuel gage can elicit the location of the nearest gas station. None of these functions appear in the prior art discussed above.

Other papers on finding the eyes of a subject are: Wang, Y., Yuan, B., “Human Eye Location Using Wavelet and Neural Network”, Proceedings of the IEEE Internal Conference on Signal Processing 2000, p 1233-1236, and Sirohey, S. A., Rosenfeld, A., “Eye detection in a face using linear and nonlinear filters”, Pattern Recognition 34 (2001) p 1367-1391, Elsevier Science Ltd. The Sirohey et al. article in particular, in addition to a review of the prior art, provides an excellent methodology for eye location determination. The technique makes use of face color to aid in face and eye location.

In all of the above references on eye tracking, natural or visible illumination is used. In a vehicle infrared illumination will be used so as to not distract the occupant. The eyes of a person are particularly noticeable under infrared illumination as discussed in Richards, A., Alien Vision, p. 6-9, 2001, SPIE Press, Bellingham, Wash. The use of infrared radiation to aid in location of the occupant's eyes either by itself of along with natural or artificial radiation is a preferred implementation of the teachings of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein. This is illustrated in FIG. 53. In Aguilar, M., Fay, D. A., Ross, W. D., Waxman, M., Ireland, D. B., and Racamato, J. P., “Real-time fusion of low-light CCD and uncooled IR imagery for color night vision” SPIE Conference on Enhanced and Synthetic Vision 1998, Orlando, Fla. SPIE Vol. 3364 p. 124-133 , the authors illustrate how to fuse images from different imagers together to form an enhanced image. They use thermal IR and enhanced visual to display a night vision image. The teachings of this reference, as well as those cross-references therein all of which are included herein by reference, can also be applied to improve the ability of a neural network or other pattern recognition system to locate the eyes and head, as well as other parts, of a vehicle occupant. In this case, there is no need to superimpose the two images as the neural network can accept separate inputs from each type imager. Thus, thermal IR imagers and enhanced visual imagers can be used in practicing at least one of the inventions disclosed herein as well as the other technologies mentioned above. In this manner, the eyes or other parts of the occupant can be found at night without additional sources of illumination.

6.6 Heartbeat and Health State

Although the concept of measuring the heartbeat of a vehicle occupant is believed to have originated with the current assignee, Bader in U.S. Pat. No. 06,195,008 uses a comparison of the heartbeat with stored data to determine the age of the occupant. Other uses of heartbeat measurement include determining the presence of an occupant on a particular seat, the determination of the total number of vehicle occupants, the presence of an occupant in a vehicle for security purposes, for example, and the presence of an occupant in the trunk etc.

6.7 Other Inputs

Many other inputs can be applied to the interior or exterior monitoring systems of the inventions disclosed herein. For interior monitoring, these can include, among others, the position of the seat and seatback, vehicle velocity, brake pressure, steering wheel position and motion, exterior temperature and humidity, seat weight sensors, accelerometers and gyroscopes, engine behavior sensors, tire monitors and chemical (oxygen, carbon dioxide, alcohol, etc.) sensors. For external monitoring, these can include, among others, temperature and humidity, weather forecasting information, traffic information, hazard warnings, speed limit information, time of day, lighting and visibility conditions and road condition information.

7. Illumination

7.1 Infrared Light

In a passive infrared system, as described in Corrado referenced above, for example, a detector receives infrared radiation from an object in its field of view, in this case the vehicle occupant, and determines the presence and temperature of the occupant based on the infrared radiation. The occupant sensor system can then respond to the temperature of the occupant, which can either be a child in a rear facing child seat or a normally seated occupant, to control some other system. This technology could provide input data to a pattern recognition system but it has limitations related to temperature.

The sensing of the child could pose a problem if the child is covered with blankets, depending on the IR frequency used. It also might not be possible to differentiate between a rear facing child seat and a forward facing child seat. In all cases, the technology can fail to detect the occupant if the ambient temperature reaches body temperature as it does in hot climates. Nevertheless, for use in the control of the vehicle climate, for example, a passive infrared system that permits an accurate measurement of each occupant's temperature is useful. Prior art systems are mostly limited to single pixel devices. Use of an IR imager removes many of the problems listed above and is believed to be novel to the inventions disclosed herein.

In a laser optical system, an infrared laser beam is used to momentarily illuminate an object, occupant or child seat in the manner as described, and illustrated in FIG. 8, of Breed et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 05,653,462). In some cases, a CCD or a CMOS device is used to receive the reflected light. In other cases, when a scanning laser is used, a pin or avalanche diode or other photo detector can be used. The laser can either be used in a scanning mode, or, through the use of a lens, a cone of light, swept line of light, or a pattern or structured light can be created which covers a large portion of the object. Additionally, one or more LEDs can be used as a light source. Also, triangulation can be used in conjunction with an offset scanning laser to determine the range of the illuminated spot from the light detector. Various focusing systems also can have applicability in some implementations to measure the distance to an occupant. In most cases, a pattern recognition system, as defined herein, is used to identify, ascertain the identity of and classify, and can be used to locate, and determine the position of, the illuminated object and/or its constituent parts.

Optical systems generally provide the most information about the object and at a rapid data rate. Their main drawback is cost which is usually above that of ultrasonic or passive infrared systems. As the cost of lasers and imagers has now come down, this system is now competitive. Depending on the implementation of the system, there may be some concern for the safety of the occupant if a laser light can enter the occupant's eyes. This is minimized if the laser operates in the infrared spectrum particularly at the “eye-safe” frequencies.

Another important feature is that the brightness of the point of light from the laser, if it is in the infrared part of the spectrum and if a filter is used on the receiving detector, can overpower the reflected sun's rays with the result that the same classification algorithms can be made to work both at night and under bright sunlight in a convertible. An alternative approach is to use different algorithms for different lighting conditions.

Although active and passive infrared light has been disclosed in the prior art, the use of a scanning laser, modulated light, filters, trainable pattern recognition etc. is believed to have been first disclosed by the current assignee in the above-referenced patents.

7.2 Structured Light

U.S. Pat. No. 05,003,166 provides an excellent treatise on the use of structured light for range mapping of objects in general. It does not apply this technique for automotive applications and in particular for occupant sensing or monitoring inside or outside of a vehicle. The use of structured light in the automotive environment and particularly for sensing occupants is believed to have been first disclosed by the current assignee in the above-referenced patents.

U.S. Pat. No. 06,049,757 to Nakajima et al. describes structured light in the form of bright spots that illuminate the face of the driver to determine the inclination of the face and to issue a warning if the inclination is indicative of a dangerous situation. In the current assignee's patents, structured light is disclosed to obtain a determination of the location of an occupant and/or his or her parts. This includes the position of any part of the occupant including the occupant's face and thus the invention of this patent is believed to be anticipated by the current assignee's patents referenced above.

U.S. Pat. No. 06,298,311 to Griffin et al. repeats much of the teachings of the early patents of the current assignee. A plurality of IR beams are modulated and directed in the vicinity of the passenger seat and used through a photosensitive receiver to detect the presence and location of an object in the passenger seat, although the particular pattern recognition system is not disclosed. The pattern of IR beams used in this patent is a form of structured light.

Recently, a paper has been published that describes a structured light camera system disclosed years ago by the current assignee: V. Ramesh, M. Greiffenhagen, S. Boverie, A. Giratt, “Real-Time Surveillance and Monitoring for Automotive Applications”, SAE 2000-01-0347.

7.3 Color and Natural Light

A number of systems have been disclosed that use illumination as the basis for occupant detection. The problem with artificial illumination is that it will not always overpower the sun and thus in a convertible on a bright sunny day, for example, the artificial light can be undetectable unless it is a point. If one or more points of light are not the illumination of choice, then the system must also be able to operate under natural light. The inventions herein accomplish the feat of accurate identification and tracking of an occupant under all lighting conditions by using artificial illumination at night and natural light when it is available. This requires that the pattern recognition system be modular with different modules used for different situations as discussed in more detail below. There is no known prior art for using natural radiation for occupant sensing systems.

When natural illumination is used, a great deal of useful information can be obtained if various parts of the electromagnetic spectrum are used. The ability to locate the face and facial features is enhanced if color is used, for example. Once again, there is no known prior art for the use of color, for example. All known systems that use electromagnetic radiation are monochromatic.

7.4 Radar

The radar portion of the electromagnetic spectrum can also be used for occupant detection as first disclosed by the current assignee in the above-referenced patents. Radar systems have similar properties to the laser system discussed above except the ability to focus the beam, which is limited in radar by the frequency chosen and the antenna size. It is also much more difficult to achieve a scanning system for the same reasons. The wavelength of a particular radar system can limit the ability of the pattern recognition system to detect object features smaller than a certain size. Once again, however, there is some concern about the health effects of radar on children and other occupants. This concern is expressed in various reports available from the United States Food and Drug Administration, Division of Devices.

When the occupying item is human, in some instances the information about the occupying item can be the occupant's position, size and/or weight. Each of these properties can have an effect on the control criteria of the component. One system for determining a deployment force of an air bag system in described in U.S. Pat. No. 06,199,904 (Dosdall). This system provides a reflective surface in the vehicle seat that reflects microwaves transmitted from a microwave emitter. The position, size and weight of a human occupant are said to be determined by calibrating the microwaves detected by a detector after the microwaves have been reflected from the reflective surface and pass through the occupant. Although some features disclosed in the '904 patent are not disclosed in the current assignee's above-referenced patents, the use of radar in general for occupant sensing is disclosed in those patents.

7.5 Frequency or Spectrum Considerations

As discussed above, it is desirable to obtain information about an occupying item in a vehicle in order to control a component in the vehicle based on the characteristics of the occupying item. For example, if it were known that the occupying item is inanimate, an airbag deployment system would generally be controlled to suppress deployment of any airbags designed to protect passengers seated at the location of the inanimate object.

Particular parts of the electromagnetic spectrum interact with animal bodies in a manner differently from inanimate objects and allow the positive identification that there is an animal in the passenger compartment, or in the vicinity of the vehicle. The choice of frequencies for both active and passive observation of people is discussed in detail in Richards, A. Alien Vision, Exploring the Electromagnetic Spectrum with Imaging Technology, 2001, SPIE Press Bellingham, Wash. In particular, in the near IR range (˜850 nm), the eyes of a person at night are easily seen when illuminated. In the near UV range (˜360 nm), distinctive skin patterns are observable that can be used for identification. In the SWIR range (1100-2500 nm), the person can be easily separated from the background.

The MWIR range (2.5-7 Microns) in the passive case clearly shows people against a cooler background except when the ambient temperature is high and then everything radiates or reflects energy in that range. However, windows are not transparent to MWIR and thus energy emitted from outside the vehicle does not interfere with the energy emitted from the occupants as long as the windows are closed. This range is particularly useful at night when it is unlikely that the vehicle interior will be emitting significant amounts of energy in this range.

In the LWIR range (7-15 Microns), people are even more clearly seen against a dark background that is cooler than the person. Finally, millimeter wave radar can be used for occupant sensing as discussed elsewhere. It is important to note that an occupant sensing system can use radiation in more than one of these ranges depending on what is appropriate for the situation. For example, when the sun is bright, then visual imaging can be very effective and when the sun has set, various ranges of infrared become useful. Thus, an occupant sensing system can be a combination of these subsystems. Once again, there is not believed to be any prior art on the use of these imaging techniques for occupant sensing other than that of the current assignee.

Finally, terahertz-based devices are now being developed which show promise for vehicle interrogation and monitoring systems. Terahertz is a higher frequency than mm wave but longer than LWIR. Typically, terahertz waves are in the 1 mm to 100 Microns or less. Devices under development will permit a laser like device for generation and an array device for sensing. Life forms will respond in a particular fashion to terahertz radiation as discussed in the book Alien Vision referenced above.

8. Field Sensors

Capacitive reflective occupant sensing computes distance by detecting dielectric constant of water within the operating range of the sensor, and can distinguish a human from an inanimate object in the seat. Another capacitive sensor uses a comparison to the dielectric constant of air. A human who is 80 times more conductive than air will register as being in a seat and the distance recognized. Objects not so conductive will not register. A non-registering object is interpreted as an unoccupied seat. This unoccupied seat message could be used to prevent the airbag from deploying. Force sensing resistors located in the seats can also be used to detect the presence of an occupant. Occupant sensors deactivate airbags if a seat registers as unoccupied or if the occupant is detected too close to the airbag.

The use of a capacitive sensor in a vehicle to generate an output signal indicative of the presence of an object is described in U.S. Pat. No. 06,020,812 to Thompson et al. The presence of the object affects the reflected electric field causing a change in an output signal. The sensor is mounted on the steering wheel assembly for driver position detection or on the instrument panel near the passenger air bag module for passenger position detection. Thompson et al. also describes the use of a second capacitive sensor which generates an electric field which may or may not overlap the electric field generated by the first capacitive sensor. The positioning of the second capacitive sensor determines whether its electric field overlaps. The second capacitive sensor is used to determine whether the occupant is in a normal seating position and based on this determination, affects the decision to activate a safety restraint.

The distance measuring device such as disclosed herein can also be a capacitive proximity sensor or a capacitance sensor. One possible capacitance sensor called a capaciflector is described in U.S. Pat. No. 05,166,679. The capaciflector senses closeness or distance between the sensor and an object based on the capacitive coupling between the sensor and the object. One problem of the system using such a sensor mounted on the steering wheel, for example, is that a driver may have inadvertently placed his hand over the sensor, thus defeating the operation of the device. A second confirming transmitter/receiver is therefore desirable to be placed at some other convenient position such as on the roof or headliner of the passenger compartment as shown in several implementations described below.

Electric and magnetic phenomena can be employed in other ways to sense the presence of an occupant and in particular the fields themselves can be used to determine the dielectric properties, such as the loss tangent or dielectric constant, of occupying items in the passenger compartment. However, it is difficult if not impossible to measure these properties using static fields and thus a varying field is used which once again causes electromagnetic waves. Thus, the use of quasi-static low-frequency fields is really a limiting case of the use of waves as described in detail above. Electromagnetic waves are significantly affected at low frequencies, for example, by the dielectric properties of the material. Such capacitive or electric field sensors, for example are described in U.S. patents by Kithil et al. U.S. Pat. No. 05,366,241, U.S. Pat. No. 05,602,734, U.S. Pat. No. 05,691,693, U.S. Pat. No. 05,802,479, U.S. Pat. No. 05,844,486 and U.S. Pat. No. 06,014,602; by Jinno et al. U.S. Pat. No. 05,948,031; by Saito U.S. Pat. No. 06,325,413; by Kleinberg et al. U.S. Pat. No. 09,770,997; and SAE technical papers 982292 and 971051.

Additionally, as discussed in more detail below, the sensing of the change in the characteristics of the near field that surrounds an antenna is an effective and economical method of determining the presence of water or a water-containing life form in the vicinity of the antenna and thus a measure of occupant presence. Measurement of the near field parameters can also yield a specific pattern of an occupant and thus provide a possibility to discriminate a human being from other objects. The use of electric field and capacitance sensors and their equivalence to the occupant sensors described herein requires a special discussion.

Electric and magnetic field sensors and wave sensors are essentially the same from the point of view of sensing the presence of an occupant in a vehicle. In both cases, a time varying electric and/or magnetic field is disturbed or modified by the presence of the occupant. At high frequencies in the visual, infrared and high frequency radio wave region, the sensor is usually based on the reflection of electromagnetic energy. As the frequency drops and more of the energy passes through the occupant, the absorption of the wave energy is measured and at still lower frequencies, the occupant's dielectric properties modify the time varying field produced in the occupied space by the plates of a capacitor. In this latter case, the sensor senses the change in charge distribution on the capacitor plates by measuring, for example, the current wave magnitude or phase in the electric circuit that drives the capacitor.

In all cases, the presence of the occupant reflects, absorbs or modifies the waves or variations in the electric or magnetic fields in the space occupied by the occupant. Thus, for the purposes of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein, capacitance and inductance, electric field and magnetic field sensors are equivalent and will be considered as wave sensors. What follows is a discussion comparing the similarities and differences between two types of wave sensors, electromagnetic beam sensors and capacitive sensors as exemplified by Kithil in U.S. Pat. No. 05,602,734.

An electromagnetic field disturbed or emitted by a passenger in the case of an electromagnetic beam sensor, for example, and the electric field sensor of Kithil, for example, are in many ways similar and equivalent for the purposes of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein. The electromagnetic beam sensor is an actual electromagnetic wave sensor by definition, which exploits for sensing a coupled pair of continuously changing electric and magnetic fields, an electromagnetic wave affected or generated by a passenger. The electric field here is not a static, potential one. It is essentially a dynamic, vortex electric field coupled with a changing magnetic field, that is, an electromagnetic wave. It cannot be produced by a steady distribution of electric charges. It is initially produced by moving electric charges in a transmitter, even if this transmitter is a passenger body for the case of a passive infrared sensor.

In the Kithil sensor, a static electric field is declared as an initial material agent coupling a passenger and a sensor (see column 5, lines 5-7): “The proximity sensors 12 each function by creating an electrostatic field between oscillator input loop 54 and detector output loop 56, which is affected by presence of a person near by, as a result of capacitive coupling, . . . ”. It is a potential, non-vortex electric field. It is not necessarily coupled with any magnetic field. It is the electric field of a capacitor. It can be produced with a steady distribution of electric charges. Thus, it is not an electromagnetic wave by definition but if the sensor is driven by a varying current, then it produces a varying electric field in the space between the plates of the capacitor which necessarily and simultaneously originates an electromagnetic wave. In the strict sense, a varying electric field between the plates of a capacitor is different from an electromagnetic wave that is detached from the device that produces it. For the purposes herein, however, both are varying electric fields and both interact with matter where the interaction is a function of the dielectric constant of the matter and therefore they can be considered in some cases as equivalents.

Kithil declares that he uses a static electric field in his capacitance sensor. Thus, from the consideration above, one can conclude that Kithil's sensor cannot be treated as a wave sensor because there are no actual electromagnetic waves but only a static electric field of the capacitor in the sensor system. However, this is not the case. The Kithil system could not operate with a true static electric field because a steady system does not carry any information. Therefore, Kithil is forced to use an oscillator, causing an alternating current in the capacitor and a time varying electric field, or equivalent wave, in the space between the capacitor plates, and a detector to reveal an informative change of the sensor capacitance caused by the presence of an occupant (see FIG. 7 and its description). In this case, his system becomes a wave sensor in the sense that it starts generating actual electromagnetic waves according to the definition above. That is, Kithil's sensor can be treated as a wave sensor regardless of the degree to which the electromagnetic field that it creates has developed, a beam or a spread shape.

As described in the Kithil patents, the capacitor sensor is a parametric system where the capacitance of the sensor is controlled by influence of the passenger body. This influence is transferred by means of the varying electromagnetic field (i.e., the material agent necessarily originating the wave process) coupling the capacitor electrodes and the body. It is important to note that the same influence takes also place with a true static electric field caused by an unmovable charge distribution, that is in the absence of any wave phenomenon. This would be a situation if there were no oscillator in Kithil's system. However, such a system is not workable and thus Kithil reverts to a dynamic system using electromagnetic waves.

Thus, although Kithil declares the coupling is due to a static electric field, such a situation is not realized in his system because an alternating electromagnetic field (“wave”) exists in the system due to the oscillator. Thus, his sensor is actually a wave sensor, that is, it is sensitive to a change of a wave field in the vehicle compartment. This change is measured by measuring the change of its capacitance. The capacitance of the sensor system is determined by the configuration of its electrodes, one of which is a human body, that is, the passenger, and the part which controls the electrode configuration and hence a sensor parameter, the capacitance.

The physics definition of “wave” from Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary is: “11. Physics. A progressive disturbance propagated from point to point in a medium or space without progress or advance of the points themselves, . . . ”. In a capacitor, the time that it takes for the disturbance (a change in voltage) to propagate through space, the dielectric and to the opposite plate is generally small and neglected but it is not zero. In space, this velocity of propagation is the speed of light. As the frequency driving the capacitor increases and the distance separating the plates increases, this transmission time as a percentage of the period of oscillation can become significant. Nevertheless, an observer between the plates will see the rise and fall of the electric field much like a person standing in the water of an ocean. The presence of a dielectric body between the plates causes the waves to get bigger as more electrons flow to and from the plates of the capacitor. Thus, an occupant affects the magnitude of these waves which is sensed by the capacitor circuit. Thus, the electromagnetic field is a material agent that carries information about a passenger's position in both Kithil's and a beam type electromagnetic wave sensor.

The following definitions are from the Encyclopedia Britannica:

“electromagnetic field”

“A property of space caused by the motion of an electric charge. A stationary charge will produce only an electric field in the surrounding space. If the charge is moving, a magnetic field is also produced. An electric field can be produced also by a changing magnetic field. The mutual interaction of electric and magnetic fields produces an electromagnetic field, which is considered as having its own existence in space apart from the charges or currents (a stream of moving charges) with which it may be related . . . .” (Copyright 1994-1998 Encyclopedia Britannica).

“displacement current”

“ . . . in electromagnetism, a phenomenon analogous to an ordinary electric current, posited to explain magnetic fields that are produced by changing electric fields. Ordinary electric currents, called conduction currents, whether steady or varying, produce an accompanying magnetic field in the vicinity of the current. [ . . . ]

“As electric charges do not flow through the insulation from one plate of a capacitor to the other, there is no conduction current; instead, a displacement current is said to be present to account for the continuity of the magnetic effects. In fact, the calculated size of the displacement current between the plates of a capacitor being charged and discharged in an alternating-current circuit is equal to the size of the conduction current in the wires leading to and from the capacitor. Displacement currents play a central role in the propagation of electromagnetic radiation, such as light and radio waves, through empty space. A traveling, varying magnetic field is everywhere associated with a periodically changing electric field that may be conceived in terms of a displacement current. Maxwell's insight on displacement current, therefore, made it possible to understand electromagnetic waves as being propagated through space completely detached from electric currents in conductors.” Copyright 1994-1998 Encyclopedia Britannica.

“electromagnetic radiation”

“ . . . energy that is propagated through free space or through a material medium in the form of electromagnetic waves, such as radio waves, visible light, and gamma rays. The term also refers to the emission and transmission of such radiant energy. [ . . . ]

“It has been established that time-varying electric fields can induce magnetic fields and that time-varying magnetic fields can in like manner induce electric fields. Because such electric and magnetic fields generate each other, they occur jointly, and together they propagate as electromagnetic waves. An electromagnetic wave is a transverse wave in that the electric field and the magnetic field at any point and time in the wave are perpendicular to each other as well as to the direction of propagation. [ . . . ]

“Electromagnetic radiation has properties in common with other forms of waves such as reflection, refraction, diffraction, and interference. [ . . . ]” Copyright 1994-1998 Encyclopedia Britannica

The main part of the Kithil “circuit means” is an oscillator, which is as necessary in the system as the capacitor itself to make the capacitive coupling effect be detectable. An oscillator by nature creates waves. The system can operate as a sensor only if an alternating current flows through the sensor capacitor, which, in fact, is a detector from which an informative signal is acquired. Then, this current (or, more exactly, the integral of the current over time—charge) is measured and the result is a measure of the sensor capacitance value. The latter in turn depends on the passenger presence that affects the magnitude of the waves that travel between the plates of the capacitor making the Kithil sensor a wave sensor by the definition herein.

An additional relevant definition is:

(Telecom Glossary, atis.org/tg2k/_capacitive_coupling.html)

“capacitive coupling: The transfer of energy from one circuit to another by means of the mutual capacitance between the circuits. (188) Note 1: The coupling may be deliberate or inadvertent. Note 2: Capacitive coupling favors transfer of the higher frequency components of a signal, whereas inductive coupling favors lower frequency components, and conductive coupling favors neither higher nor lower frequency components.”

Another similarity between one embodiment of the sensor of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein and the Kithil sensor is the use of a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO).

9. Telematics

One key invention disclosed here and in the current assignee's above-referenced patents is that once an occupancy has been categorized one of the many ways that the information can be used is to transmit all or some of it to a remote location, e.g., via a telematics link. This link can be a cell phone, Wi-Fi Wi-Mobile or other Internet connection or a satellite (LEO or geo-stationary). The recipient of the information can be a governmental authority, a company or an EMS organization.

9.1 Transmission of Occupancy Information

For example, vehicles can be provided with a standard cellular phone as well as the Global Positioning System (GPS), an automobile navigation or location system with an optional connection to a manned assistance facility, which is now available on a number of vehicle models. In the event of an accident, the phone may automatically call 911 for emergency assistance and report the exact position of the vehicle. If the vehicle also has a system as described herein for monitoring each seat location, the number and perhaps the condition of the occupants could also be reported. In that way, the emergency service (EMS) would know what equipment and how many ambulances to send to the accident site. Moreover, a communication channel can be opened between the vehicle and a monitoring facility/emergency response facility or personnel to enable directions to be provided to the occupant(s) of the vehicle to assist in any necessary first aid prior to arrival of the emergency assistance personnel.

One existing service is OnStar® provided by General Motors that automatically notifies an OnStar® operator in the event that the airbags deploy. By adding the teachings of the inventions herein, the service can also provide a description on the number and category of occupants, their condition and the output of other relevant information including a picture of a particular seat before and after the accident if desired. There is not believed to be any prior art for these added services.

9.2 Low Cost Automatic Crash Notification

9.3 Cell Phone Improvements

9.4 Children Trapped in a Vehicle

9.5 Telematics with Non-Automotive Vehicles

10. Display

10.1 Heads-Up Display (HUD)

Heads-up displays are normally projected onto the windshield. In a few cases, they can appear on a visor that is placed in front of the driver or vehicle passenger. The use of the term heads-up display or HUD herein will generally encompass both systems as well as other equivalent systems such as an OLED display.

Various manufacturers have attempted to provide information to a driver through the use of a heads-up display. In some cases, the display is limited to information that would otherwise appear on the instrument panel. In more sophisticated cases, there is an attempt to display information about the environment that would be useful to the driver. Night vision cameras can record that there is a person or an object ahead on the road that the vehicle might run into if the driver is not aware of its presence. Present day systems of this type provide a display at the bottom of the windshield of the scene sensed by the night vision camera. No attempt is made to superimpose this onto the windshield such that the driver would see it at the location that he would normally see it if the object were illuminated. This confuses the driver and in one study the driver actually performed worse than he would have in the absence of the night vision information.

The ability to find the eyes of the driver, as taught here, permits the placement of the night vision image exactly where the driver expects to see it. An enhancement is to categorize and identify the objects that should be brought to the attention of the driver and then place an icon at the proper place in the driver's field of view. There is no known prior art of these inventions. There is of course much prior art on night vision. See for example, M. Aguilar, D. A. Fay, W. D. Ross, A. M. Waxman, D. B. Ireland, J. P. Racamato, “Real-time fusion of low-light CCD and uncooled IR imagery for color night vision”, SPIE Vol. 3364 (1998).

The University of Minnesota attempts to show the driver of a snow plow where the snow covered road edges are on a LCD display that is placed in front of the windshield. Needless to say this also can confuse the driver and a preferable approach, as disclosed herein, is to place the edge markings on the windshield as they would appear if the driver could see the road. This again requires knowledge of the location of the eyes of the driver which is not present in the Minnesota system.

Many other applications of display technology come to mind including aids to a lost driver from the route guidance system. An arrow, lane markings or even a pseudo-colored lane can be properly placed in his field of view when he should make a turn, for example or direct the driver to the closest McDonalds or gas station. For the passenger, objects of interest along with short descriptions (written or oral) can be highlighted on the HUD if the locations of the eyes of the passenger are known. In fact, all of the windows of the vehicle can become semi-transparent computer screens and be used as a virtual reality or augmented reality system guiding the driver and providing information about the environment that is generated by accurate maps, sensors and inter-vehicle communication and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication. This becomes easier with the development of organic displays that comprise a thin film that can be manufactured as part of the window or appear as part of a transparent visor. Again, there is not believed to be any prior art on these features.

10.2 Adjust HUD Based on Driver Seating Position

A simpler system that can be implemented without an occupant sensor is to base the location of the HUD display on the expected location of the eyes of the driver that can be calculated from other sensor information such as the position of the rear view mirror, seat position and weight of the occupant. Once an approximate location for the display is determined, a knob of another system can be provided to permit the driver to fine tune that location. There is not believed to be any prior art for this concept. Some relevant patents are U.S. Pat. No. 05,668,907 and WO0235276.

10.3 HUD on Rear Window

In some cases, it might be desirable to project the HUD onto the rear window or in some cases even the side windows. For the rear window, the position of the mirror and the occupant's eyes would be useful in determining where to place the image. The position of the eyes of the driver or passenger would be useful for a HUD display on the side windows. Finally, for an entertainment system, the positions of the eyes of a passenger can allow the display of three-dimensional images onto any in-vehicle display. In this regard, see for example U.S. Pat. No. 06,291,906.

10.4 Plastic Electronics

Heads-up displays previously have been based on projection systems. With the development of plastic electronics, the possibility now exists to eliminate the projection system and to create the image directly on the windshield. Relevant patents for this technology include U.S. Pat. No. 05,661,553, U.S. Pat. No. 05,796,454, U.S. Pat. No. 05,889,566, and U.S. Pat. No. 05,933,203. A relevant paper is “Polymer Material Promises an Inexpensive and Thin Full-Color Light-Emitting Plastic Display”, Electronic Design Magazine, Jan. 9, 1996. This display material can be used in conjunction with SPD, for example, to turn the vehicle windows into a multicolored display. Also see “Bright Future for Displays”, MIT Technology Review, pp 82-3, April 2001.

11. Pattern Recognition

Many of the teachings of the inventions herein are based on pattern recognition technologies as taught in numerous textbooks and technical papers. For example, an important part of the diagnostic teachings of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein is the manner in which the diagnostic module determines a normal pattern from an abnormal pattern and the manner in which it decides what data to use from the vast amount of data available. This is accomplished using pattern recognition technologies, such as artificial neural networks, combination neural networks, support vector machines, cellular neural networks etc.

The present invention relating to occupant sensing can use sophisticated pattern recognition capabilities such as fuzzy logic systems, neural networks, neural-fuzzy systems or other pattern recognition computer-based algorithms with the occupant position measurement system disclosed in the above referenced patents and/or patent applications.

The pattern recognition techniques used can be applied to the preprocessed data acquired by various transducers or to the raw data itself depending on the application. For example, as reported in the current assignee's patent publications, there is frequently information in the frequencies present in the data and thus a Fourier transform of the data can be inputted into the pattern recognition algorithm. In optical correlation methods, for example, a very fast identification of an object can be obtained using the frequency domain rather than the time domain. Similarly, when analyzing the output of weight sensors, the transient response is usually more accurate that the static response, as taught in the current assignee's patents and patent applications, and this transient response can be analyzed in the frequency domain or in the time domain. An example of the use of a simple frequency analysis is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 06,005,485 to Kursawe.

Pattern recognition technology is important to the development of smart airbags that the occupant identification and position determination systems described in the above-referenced patents and patent applications and to the methods described herein for adapting those systems to a particular vehicle model and for solving particular subsystem problems discussed in this section. To complete the development of smart airbags, an anticipatory crash detecting system such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 06,343,810 is also desirable. Prior to the implementation of anticipatory crash sensing, the use of a neural network smart crash sensor, which identifies the type of crash and thus its severity based on the early part of the crash acceleration signature, should be developed and thereafter implemented.

U.S. Pat. No. 05,684,701 describes a crash sensor based on neural networks. This crash sensor, as with all other crash sensors, determines whether or not the crash is of sufficient severity to require deployment of the airbag and, if so, initiates the deployment. A smart airbag crash sensor based on neural networks can also be designed to identify the crash and categorize it with regard to severity, thus permitting the airbag deployment to be matched not only to the characteristics and position of the occupant but also to the severity and timing of the crash itself as described in more detail in US RE37260 (a reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 05,943,295).

The applications for this technology are numerous as described in the current assignee's patents and patent applications listed herein. They include, among others: (i) the monitoring of the occupant for safety purposes to prevent airbag deployment induced injuries, (ii) the locating of the eyes of the occupant (driver) to permit automatic adjustment of the rear view mirror(s), (iii) the location of the seat to place the occupant's eyes at the proper position to eliminate the parallax in a heads-up display in night vision systems, (iv) the location of the ears of the occupant for optimum adjustment of the entertainment system, (v) the identification of the occupant for security or other reasons, (vi) the determination of obstructions in the path of a closing door or window, (vii) the determination of the position of the occupant's shoulder so that the seat belt anchorage point can be adjusted for the best protection of the occupant, (viii) the determination of the position of the rear of the occupants head so that the headrest or other system can be adjusted to minimize whiplash injuries in rear impacts, (ix) anticipatory crash sensing, (x) blind spot detection, (xi) smart headlight dimmers, (xii) sunlight and headlight glare reduction and many others. In fact, over forty products alone have been identified based on the ability to identify and monitor objects and parts thereof in the passenger compartment of an automobile or truck. In addition, there are many other applications of the apparatus and methods described herein for monitoring the environment exterior to the vehicle.

Unless specifically stated otherwise below, there is no known prior art for any of the applications listed in this section.

11.1 Neural Networks

The theory of neural networks including many examples can be found in several books on the subject including. See references 16 through 33. An example of such a pattern recognition system using neural networks using sonar is discussed in two papers by Gorman, R. P. and Sejnowski, T. J. “Analysis of Hidden Units in a Layered Network Trained to Classify Sonar Targets”, Neural Networks, Vol. 1. pp. 75-89, 1988, and “Learned Classification of Sonar Targets Using a Massively Parallel Network”, IEEE Transactions on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, Vol. 36, No. 7, July 1988. A more recent example using cellular neural networks is: M. Milanove, U. Büker, “Object recognition in image sequences with cellular neural networks”, Neurocomputing 31 (2000) 124-141, Elsevier. Another recent example using support vector machines, a form of neural network, is: E. Destéfanis, E. Kienzle, L. Canali, “Occupant Detection Using Support Vector Machines With a Polynomial Kernel Function”, SPIE Vol. 4192 (2000).

Japanese Patent No. 342337 (A) to Ueno describes a device for detecting the driving condition of a vehicle driver comprising a light emitter for irradiating the face of the driver and a means for picking up the image of the driver and storing it for later analysis. Means are provided for locating the eyes of the driver and then the irises of the eyes and then determining if the driver is looking to the side or sleeping. Ueno determines the state of the eyes of the occupant rather than determining the location of the eyes relative to the other parts of the vehicle passenger compartment. Such a system can be defeated if the driver is wearing glasses, particularly sunglasses, or another optical device which obstructs a clear view of his/her eyes. Pattern recognition technologies such as neural networks are not used. The method of finding the eyes is described but not a method of adapting the system to a particular vehicle model.

U.S. Pat. No. 05,008,946 to Ando uses a complicated set of rules to isolate the eyes and mouth of a driver and uses this information to permit the driver to control the radio, for example, or other systems within the vehicle by moving his eyes and/or mouth. Ando uses visible light and illuminates only the head of the driver. He also makes no use of trainable pattern recognition systems such as neural networks, nor is there any attempt to identify the contents neither of the vehicle nor of their location relative to the vehicle passenger compartment. Rather, Ando is limited to control of vehicle devices by responding to motion of the driver's mouth and eyes. As with Ueno, a method of finding the eyes is described but not a method of adapting the system to a particular vehicle model.

U.S. Pat. No. 05,298,732 and U.S. Pat. No. 05,714,751 to Chen also concentrate on locating the eyes of the driver so as to position a light filter in the form of a continuously repositioning small sun visor or liquid crystal shade between a light source, such as the sun or the lights of an oncoming vehicle, and the driver's eyes. Chen does not explain in detail how the eyes are located but does supply a calibration system whereby the driver can adjust the filter so that it is at the proper position relative to his or her eyes as long as the eyes remain at the particular position. Chen references the use of automatic equipment for determining the location of the eyes but does not describe how this equipment works. In any event, in Chen, there is no mention of illumination of the occupant, monitoring the position of the occupant, other than the eyes, determining the position of the eyes relative to the passenger compartment, or identifying any other object in the vehicle other than the driver's eyes. Also, there is no mention of the use of a trainable pattern recognition system. A method for finding the eyes is described but not a method of adapting the system to a particular vehicle model.

U.S. Pat. No. 05,305,012 to Faris also describes a system for reducing the glare from the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. Faris locates the eyes of the occupant by using two spaced-apart infrared cameras using passive infrared radiation from the eyes of the driver. Again, Faris is only interested in locating the driver's eyes relative to the sun or oncoming headlights and does not identify or monitor the occupant or locate the occupant, a rear facing child seat or any other object for that matter, relative to the passenger compartment or the airbag. Also, Faris does not use trainable pattern recognition techniques such as neural networks. Faris, in fact, does not even say how the eyes of the occupant are located but refers the reader to a book entitled Robot Vision (1991) by Berthold Horn, published by MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass. A review of this book did not appear to provide the answer to this question. Also, Faris uses the passive infrared radiation rather than illuminating the occupant with ultrasonic or electromagnetic radiation as in some implementations of the instant invention. A method for finding the eyes of the occupant is described but not a method of adapting the system to a particular vehicle model.

The use of neural networks, or neural fuzzy systems, and in particular combination neural networks, as the pattern recognition technology and the methods of adapting this to a particular vehicle, such as the training methods, is important to some of the inventions herein since it makes the monitoring system robust, reliable and accurate. The resulting algorithm created by the neural network program is usually short with a limited number of lines of code written in the C or C++ computer language as opposed to typically a very large algorithm when the techniques of the above patents to Ando, Chen and Faris are implemented. As a result, the resulting systems are easy to implement at a low cost, making them practical for automotive applications. The cost of the ultrasonic transducers, for example, is expected to be less than about $1 in quantities of one million per year and the cost of the CCD and CMOS arrays, which have been prohibitively expensive until recently, currently are estimated to cost less than about $5 each in similar quantities also rendering their use practical. Similarly, the implementation of the techniques of the above-referenced patents requires expensive microprocessors while the implementation with neural networks and similar trainable pattern recognition technologies permits the use of low cost microprocessors typically costing less than about $10 in large quantities.

The present invention is best implemented using sophisticated software that develops trainable pattern recognition algorithms such as neural networks and combination neural networks. Usually, the data is preprocessed, as discussed below, using various feature extraction techniques and the results post-processed to improve system accuracy. Examples of feature extraction techniques can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 04,906,940 entitled “Process and Apparatus for the Automatic Detection and Extraction of Features in Images and Displays” to Green et al. Examples of other more advanced and efficient pattern recognition techniques can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 05,390,136 entitled “Artificial Neuron and Method of Using Same” and U.S. Pat. No. 05,517,667 entitled “Neural Network That Does Not Require Repetitive Training” to S. T. Wang. Other examples include U.S. Pat. No. 05,235,339 (Morrison et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 05,214,744 (Schweizer et al), U.S. Pat. No. 05,181,254 (Schweizer et al), and U.S. Pat. No. 04,881,270 (Knecht et al). Neural networks as used herein include all types of neural networks including modular neural networks, cellular neural networks and support vector machines and all combinations as described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 06,445,988 and referred to therein as “combination neural networks”

11.2 Combination Neural Networks

A “combination neural network” as used herein will generally apply to any combination of two or more neural networks that are either connected together or that analyze all or a portion of the input data. A combination neural network can be used to divide up tasks in solving a particular occupant problem. For example, one neural network can be used to identify an object occupying a passenger compartment of an automobile and a second neural network can be used to determine the position of the object or its location with respect to the airbag, for example, within the passenger compartment. In another case, one neural network can be used merely to determine whether the data is similar to data upon which a main neural network has been trained or whether there is something significantly different about this data and therefore that the data should not be analyzed. Combination neural networks can sometimes be implemented as cellular neural networks.

Consider a comparative analysis performed by neural networks to that performed by the human mind. Once the human mind has identified that the object observed is a tree, the mind does not try to determine whether it is a black bear or a grizzly. Further observation on the tree might center on whether it is a pine tree, an oak tree etc. Thus, the human mind appears to operate in some manner like a hierarchy of neural networks. Similarly, neural networks for analyzing the occupancy of the vehicle can be structured such that higher order networks are used to determine, for example, whether there is an occupying item of any kind present. Another neural network could follow, knowing that there is information on the item, with attempts to categorize the item into child seats and human adults etc., i.e., determine the type of item.

Once it has decided that a child seat is present, then another neural network can be used to determine whether the child seat is rear facing or forward facing. Once the decision has been made that the child seat is facing rearward, the position of the child seat relative to the airbag, for example, can be handled by still another neural network. The overall accuracy of the system can be substantially improved by breaking the pattern recognition process down into a larger number of smaller pattern recognition problems. Combination neural networks can now be applied to solving many other pattern recognition problems in and outside of a vehicle including vehicle diagnostics, collision avoidance, anticipatory sensing etc.

In some cases, the accuracy of the pattern recognition process can be improved if the system uses data from its own recent decisions. Thus, for example, if the neural network system had determined that a forward facing adult was present, then that information can be used as input into another neural network, biasing any results toward the forward facing human compared to a rear facing child seat, for example. Similarly, for the case when an occupant is being tracked in his or her forward motion during a crash, for example, the location of the occupant at the previous calculation time step can be valuable information to determining the location of the occupant from the current data. There is a limited distance an occupant can move in 10 milliseconds, for example. In this latter example, feedback of the decision of the neural network tracking algorithm becomes important input into the same algorithm for the calculation of the position of the occupant at the next time step.

What has been described above is generally referred to as modular neural networks with and without feedback. Actually, the feedback does not have to be from the output to the input of the same neural network. The feedback from a downstream neural network could be input to an upstream neural network, for example.

The neural networks can be combined in other ways, for example in a voting situation. Sometimes the data upon which the system is trained is sufficiently complex or imprecise that different views of the data will give different results. For example, a subset of transducers may be used to train one neural network and another subset to train a second neural network etc. The decision can then be based on a voting of the parallel neural networks, sometimes known as an ensemble neural network. In the past, neural networks have usually only been used in the form of a single neural network algorithm for identifying the occupancy state of an automobile. At least one of the inventions disclosed herein is primarily advancing the state of the art and using combination neural networks wherein two or more neural networks are combined to arrive at a decision.

The applications for this technology are numerous as described in the patents and patent applications listed above. However, the main focus of some of the instant inventions is the process and resulting apparatus of adapting the system in the patents and patent applications referenced above and using combination neural networks for the detection of the presence of an occupied child seat in the rear facing position or an out-of-position occupant and the detection of an occupant in a normal seating position. The system is designed so that in the former two cases, deployment of the occupant protection apparatus (airbag) may be controlled and possibly suppressed, and in the latter case, it will be controlled and enabled.

One preferred implementation of a first generation occupant sensing system, which is adapted to various vehicle models using the teachings presented herein, is an ultrasonic occupant position sensor, as described below and in the current assignee's above-referenced patents. This system uses a Combination Artificial Neural Network (CANN) to recognize patterns that it has been trained to identify as either airbag enable or airbag disable conditions. The pattern can be obtained from four ultrasonic transducers that cover the front passenger seating area. This pattern consists of the ultrasonic echoes bouncing off of the objects in the passenger seat area. The signal from each of the four transducers includes the electrical representation of the return echoes, which is processed by the electronics. The electronic processing can comprise amplification, logarithmic compression, rectification, and demodulation (band pass filtering), followed by discretization (sampling) and digitization of the signal. The only software processing required, before this signal can be fed into the combination artificial neural network, is normalization (i.e., mapping the input to a fixed range such as numbers between 0 and 1). Although this is a fair amount of processing, the resulting signal is still considered “raw”, because all information is treated equally.

A further important application of CANN is where optical sensors such as cameras are used to monitor the inside or outside of a vehicle in the presence of varying illumination conditions. At night, artificial illumination usually in the form of infrared radiation is frequently added to the scene. For example, when monitoring the interior of a vehicle, one or more infrared LEDs are frequently used to illuminate the occupant and a pattern recognition system is trained under such lighting conditions. In bright daylight, however, unless the infrared illumination is either very bright or in the form of a scanning laser with a narrow beam, the reflections of the sun off of an object can overwhelm the infrared. However, in daylight there is no need for artificial illumination but the patterns of reflected radiation differ significantly from the infrared case. Thus, a separate pattern recognition algorithm is frequently trained to handle this case. Furthermore, depending on the lighting conditions, more than two algorithms can be trained to handle different cases. If CANN is used for this case, the initial algorithm can determine the category of illumination that is present and direct further processing to a particular neural network that has been trained under similar conditions. Another example would be the monitoring of objects in the vicinity of the vehicle. There is no known prior art on the use on neural networks, pattern recognition algorithms or, in particular, CANN for systems that monitor either the interior or the exterior of a vehicle.

Another example of an invention herein involves the monitoring of the driver's behavior over time that can be used to warn a driver if he or she is falling asleep, or to stop the vehicle if the driver loses the capacity to control it.

A paper entitled “Intelligent System for Video Monitoring of Vehicle Cockpit” by S. Boverie et al., SAE Technical Paper Series No. 980613, February 23-26, 1998, describes the installation of an optical/retina sensor in the vehicle and several uses of this sensor. Possible uses are said to include observation of the driver's face (eyelid movement) and the driver's attitude to allow analysis of the driver's vigilance level and warn him/her about critical situations and observation of the front passenger seat to allow the determination of the presence of somebody or something located on the seat and to value the volumetric occupancy of the passenger for the purpose of optimizing the operating conditions for airbags.

11.4 Combining Occupant Monitoring and Car Monitoring

As discussed above and in the current assignee's above-referenced patents and in particular in U.S. Pat. No. 06,532,408, the vehicle and the occupant can be simultaneously monitored in order to optimize the deployment of the restraint system, for example, using pattern recognition techniques such as CANN. Similarly, the position of the head of an occupant can be monitored while at the same time, the likelihood of a side impact or a rollover can be monitored by a variety of other sensor systems such as an IMU, gyroscopes, radar, laser radar, ultrasound, cameras etc. and deployment of the side curtain airbag initiated if the occupant's head is getting too close to the side window. There are of course many other examples where the simultaneous monitoring of two environments can be combined, preferably using pattern recognition, to cause an action that would not be warranted by an analysis of only one environment. There is no known prior art, except the current assignee's, of monitoring more than one environment to render a decision that would not have been made based on the monitoring of a single environment and particularly through the use of pattern recognition, trained pattern recognition, neural networks or combination neural networks in the automotive field.

CANN, as well as the other pattern recognition systems discussed herein, can be implemented in either software or in hardware through the use of cellular neural networks, support vector machines, ASIC, systems on a chip, or FPGAs depending on the particular application and the quantity of units to be made. In particular, for many applications where the volume is large but not huge, a rapid and relatively low cost implementation could be to use a field programmable gate array (FPGA). This technology lends itself well to the implementation of multiple connected networks such as some implementations of CANN.

11.5 Continuous Tracking

During the process of adapting an occupant monitoring system to a vehicle, the actual position of the occupant can be an important input during the training phase of a trainable pattern recognition system. Thus, for example, it might be desirable to associate a particular pattern of data from one or more cameras to the measured location of the occupant relative to the airbag. It is frequently desirable to positively measure the location of the occupant with another system while data collection is taking place. Systems for performing this measurement function include string potentiometers attached to the head or chest of the occupant, for example, inertial sensors such as an IMU attached to the occupant, laser optical systems using any part of the spectrum such as the far, mid or near infrared, visible and ultraviolet, radar, laser radar, stereo or focusing cameras, RF emitters attached to the occupant, or any other such measurement system. There is no known prior art for continuous tracking systems to be used in data collection when adapting a system for monitoring the interior or exterior of a vehicle.

11.6 Preprocessing

There are many preprocessing techniques that are and can be used to prepare the data for input into a pattern recognition or other analysis system in an interior or exterior monitoring system. The simplest systems involve subtracting one image from another to determine motion of the object of interest and to subtract out the unchanging background, removing some data that is known not to contain any useful information such as the early and late portions of an ultrasonic reflected signal, scaling, smoothing of filtering the data etc. More sophisticated preprocessing algorithms involve applying a Fourier transform, combining data from several sources using “sensor fusion” techniques, finding edges of objects and their orientation and elimination of non-edge data, finding areas having the same color or pattern and identifying such areas, image segmentation and many others. Very little preprocessing prior art exists other than that of the current assignee. The prior art is limited to the preprocessing techniques of Ando, Chen and Faris for eye detection and the sensor fusion techniques of Corrado, all discussed above.

11.7 Post Processing

In some cases, after the system has made a decision that there is an out-of-position adult occupying the passenger seat, for example, it is useful to compare that decision with another recent decision to see it they are consistent. If a previous decision made 10 milliseconds ago indicates that the adult was safely in position, and then thermal gradients or some other anomaly perhaps corrupted the data and thus the decision, then the new decision should be ignored unless subsequently confirmed. Post processing can involve a number of techniques including averaging the decisions with a 5 decision moving average, applying other more sophisticated filters, applying limits to the decision and/or to the change from the previous decision, comparing data point by data point in the input data that lead to the changed decision and correcting data points that appear to be in error etc. A goal of post-processing is to apply a reasonableness test to the decision and thus to improve the accuracy of the decision or eliminate erroneous decisions. There appears to be no known prior art for post-processing in the automotive monitoring field other than that of the current assignee.

12. Optical Correlators

Optical methods for data correlation analysis are utilized in systems for military purpose such as target tracking, missile self-guidance, aerospace reconnaissance data processing etc. Advantages of these methods are the possibility of parallel processing of the elements of images being recognized providing high speed recognition and the ability to use advanced optical processors created by means of integrated optics technologies.

These papers describe the use of optical methods and tools (optical correlators and spectral analyzers) for image recognition. Paper (1) discusses the use of an optical correlation technique for transforming an initial image to a form invariant to displacements of the respective object in the view. The very recognition of the object is done using a sectoring mask that is built by training with a genetic algorithm similar to methods of neural network training. The system discussed in the paper (2) includes an optical correlator that performs projection of the spectra of the target and the sample images onto a CCD matrix which functions as a detector. The consistent spectrum image at its output is used to detect the maximum of the correlation function by the median filtration method. Papers (3), (4) discuss some designs of optical correlators.

The following should be noted in connection with the discussion on the use of optical correlators for a vehicle compartment occupant position sensing task:

1) Making use of optical correlators to detect and classify objects in presence of noise is efficient when the amount of possible alternatives of the object's shape and position is comparatively small with respect to the number of elements in the scene. This is apparent from the character of demonstration samples in papers (1), (2) where there were only a few sample scenes and their respective scale factors involved.

2) The effectiveness of making use of optical correlation methods in systems of military purpose can be explained by a comparatively small number of classes of military objects to be recognized and a low probability of catching several objects of this kind with a single view.

3) In their principles of operation and capabilities, optical correlators are similar to neural associative memories.

In the task of occupant's position sensing in a car compartment, for example, the description of the sample object is represented by a training set that can include hundreds of thousands of various images. This situation is fundamentally different from those discussed in the mentioned papers. Therefore, the direct use of the optical correlation methods appears to be difficult and expensive.

Nevertheless, making use of the correlation centering technique in order to reduce the image description's redundancy can be a valuable technique. This task could involve a contour extraction technique that does not require excessive computational effort but may have limited capabilities as to the reduction of redundancy. The correlation centering can demand significantly more computational resources, but the spectra obtained in this way will be invariant to objects' displacements and, possibly, will maintain the classification features needed by the neural network for the purpose of recognition.

Once again, no prior art is believed to exist on the application of optical correlation techniques to the monitoring of either the interior or the exterior of the vehicle other than that of the current assignee.

13. Vehicle Diagnostics and Prognostics

Communications between a vehicle and a remote assistance facility are also important for the purpose of diagnosing problems with the vehicle and forecasting problems with the vehicle, called prognostics. Motor vehicles contain complex mechanical systems that are monitored and regulated by computer systems such as electronic control units (ECUs) and the like. Such ECUs monitor various components of the vehicle including engine performance, carburetion, speed/acceleration control, transmission, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), braking systems, etc. However, vehicles perform such monitoring typically only for the vehicle driver and without communication of any impending results, problems and/or vehicle malfunction to a remote site for trouble-shooting, diagnosis or tracking for data mining. They also do not inform the driver about future problems.

In the past, systems that provide for remote monitoring did not provide for automated analysis and communication of problems or potential problems and recommendations to the driver. As a result, the vehicle driver or user is often left stranded, or irreparable damage occurs to the vehicle as a result of neglect or driving the vehicle without the user knowing the vehicle is malfunctioning until it is too late, such as low oil level and a malfunctioning warning light, fan belt about to fail, failing radiator hose etc.

In this regard, U.S. Pat. No. 05,400,018 (Scholl et al.) describes a system for relaying raw sensor output from an off road work site relating to the status of a vehicle to a remote location over a communications data link. The information consists of fault codes generated by sensors and electronic control modules indicating that a failure has occurred rather than forecasting a failure. The vehicle does not include a system for performing diagnosis. Rather, the raw sensor data is processed at an off-vehicle location in order to arrive at a diagnosis of the vehicle's operating condition. Bi-directional communications are described in that a request for additional information can be sent to the vehicle from the remote location with the vehicle responding and providing the requested information but no such communication takes place with the vehicle operator and not with an operator of a vehicle traveling on a road. Also, Scholl et al. does not teach the diagnostics of the problem or potential problem on the vehicle itself nor does it teach the automatic diagnostics or any prognostics. In Scholl et al., the determination of the problem occurs at the remote site by human technicians.

U.S. Pat. No. 05,754,965 (Hagenbuch) describes an apparatus for diagnosing the state of health of a vehicle and providing the operator of the vehicle with a substantially real-time indication of the efficiency of the vehicle in performing as assigned task with respect to a predetermined goal. A processor in the vehicle monitors sensors that provide information regarding the state of health of the vehicle and the amount of work the vehicle has done. The processor records information that describes events leading up to the occurrence of an anomaly for later analysis. The sensors are also used to prompt the operator to operate the vehicle at optimum efficiency.

U.S. Pat. No. 05,955,642 (Slifkin et al.) describes a method for monitoring events in vehicles in which electrical outputs representative of events in the vehicle are produced, the characteristics of one event are compared with the characteristics of other events accumulated over a given period of time and departures or variations of a given extent from the other characteristics are determined as an indication of a significant event. A warning is sent in response to the indication, including the position of the vehicle as determined by a global positioning system on the vehicle. For example, for use with a railroad car, a microprocessor responds to outputs of an accelerometer by comparing acceleration characteristics of one impact with accumulated acceleration characteristics of other impacts and determines departures of a given magnitude from the other characteristics as a failure indication which gives rise of a warning.

Every automobile driver fears that his or her vehicle will breakdown at some unfortunate time, e.g., when he or she is traveling at night, during rush hour, or on a long trip away from home. To help alleviate that fear, certain luxury automobile manufacturers provide roadside service in the event of a breakdown. Nevertheless, unless the vehicle is equipped with OnStar® or an equivalent service, the vehicle driver must still be able to get to a telephone to call for service. It is also a fact that many people purchase a new automobile out of fear of a breakdown with their current vehicle. At least one of the inventions disclosed herein is concerned with preventing breakdowns and with minimizing maintenance costs by predicting component failure that would lead to such a breakdown before it occurs.

When a vehicle component begins to fail, the repair cost is frequently minimal if the impending failure of the component is caught early, but increases as the repair is delayed. Sometimes if a component in need of repair is not caught in a timely manner, the component, and particularly the impending failure thereof, can cause other components of the vehicle to deteriorate. One example is where the water pump fails gradually until the vehicle overheats and blows a head gasket. It is desirable, therefore, to determine that a vehicle component is about to fail as early as possible so as to minimize the probability of a breakdown and the resulting repair costs.

There are various gages on an automobile which alert the driver to various vehicle problems. For example, if the oil pressure drops below some predetermined level, the driver is warned to stop his vehicle immediately. Similarly, if the coolant temperature exceeds some predetermined value, the driver is also warned to take immediate corrective action. In these cases, the warning often comes too late as most vehicle gages alert the driver after he or she can conveniently solve the problem. Thus, what is needed is a component failure warning system that alerts the driver to the impending failure of a component sufficiently in advance of the time when the problem gets to a catastrophic point.

Some astute drivers can sense changes in the performance of their vehicle and correctly diagnose that a problem with a component is about to occur. Other drivers can sense that their vehicle is performing differently but they don't know why or when a component will fail or how serious that failure will be, or possibly even what specific component is the cause of the difference in performance. An invention disclosed herein will, in most cases, solve this problem by predicting component failures in time to permit maintenance and thus prevent vehicle breakdowns.

Presently, automobile sensors in use are based on specific predetermined or set levels, such as the coolant temperature or oil pressure, whereby an increase above the set level or a decrease below the set level will activate the sensor, rather than being based on changes in this level over time. The rate at which coolant heats up, for example, can be an important clue that some component in the cooling system is about to fail. There are no systems currently on automobiles to monitor the numerous vehicle components over time and to compare component performance with normal performance. Nowhere in the vehicle is the vibration signal of a normally operating front wheel stored, for example, or for that matter, any normal signal from any other vehicle component. Additionally, there is no system currently existing on a vehicle to look for erratic behavior of a vehicle component and to warn the driver or the dealer that a component is misbehaving and is therefore likely to fail in the very near future.

Sometimes, when a component fails, a catastrophic accident results. In the Firestone tire case, for example, over 100 people were killed when a tire of a Ford Explorer blew out which caused the Ford Explorer to rollover. Similarly, other component failures can lead to loss of control of the vehicle and a subsequent accident. It is thus very important to accurately forecast that such an event will take place but furthermore, for those cases where the event takes place suddenly without warning, it is also important to diagnose the state of the entire vehicle, which in some cases can lead to automatic corrective action to prevent unstable vehicle motion or rollovers resulting in an accident. Finally, an accurate diagnostic system for the entire vehicle can determine much more accurately the severity of an automobile crash once it has begun by knowing where the accident is taking place on the vehicle (e.g., the part of or location on the vehicle which is being impacted by an object) and what is colliding with the vehicle based on a knowledge of the force deflection characteristics of the vehicle at that location. Therefore, in addition to a component diagnostic, the teachings of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein also provide a diagnostic system for the entire vehicle prior to and during accidents. In particular, at least one of the inventions disclosed herein is concerned with the simultaneous monitoring of multiple sensors on the vehicle so that the best possible determination of the state of the vehicle can be determined. Current crash sensors operate independently or at most one sensor may influence the threshold at which another sensor triggers a deployable restraint. In the teachings of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein, two or more sensors, frequently accelerometers, are monitored simultaneously and the combination of the outputs of these multiple sensors are combined continuously in making the crash severity analysis.

Marko et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 05,041,976) is directed to a diagnostic system using pattern recognition for electronic automotive control systems and particularly for diagnosing faults in the engine of a motor vehicle after they have occurred. For example, Marko et al. is interested in determining cylinder specific faults after the cylinder is operating abnormally. More specifically, Marko et al. is directed to detecting a fault in a vehicular electromechanical system indirectly, i.e., by means of the measurement of parameters of sensors which are affected by that system, and after that fault has already manifested itself in the system. In order to form the fault detecting system, the parameters from these sensors are input to a pattern recognition system for training thereof. Then known faults are introduced and the parameters from the sensors are inputted into the pattern recognition system with an indicia of the known fault. Thus, during subsequent operation, the pattern recognition system can determine the fault of the electromechanical system based on the parameters of the sensors, assuming that the fault was “trained” into the pattern recognition system and has already occurred.

When the electromechanical system is an engine, the parameters input into the pattern recognition system for training thereof, and used for fault detection during operation, all relate to the engine. (If the electromechanical system is other than the engine, then the parameters input into the pattern recognition system would relate to that system.) In other words, each parameter will be affected by the operation of the engine and depend thereon and changes in the operation of the engine will alter the parameter, e.g., the manifold absolute pressure is an indication of the airflow into the engine. In this case, the signal from the manifold absolute pressure sensor may be indicative of a fault in the intake of air into the engine, e.g., the engine is drawing in too much or too little air, and is thus affected by the operation of the engine. Similarly, the mass air flow is the airflow into the engine and is an alternative to the manifold absolute pressure. It is thus a parameter that is directly associated with, related to and dependent on the engine. The exhaust gas oxygen sensor is also affected by the operation of the engine, and thus directly associated therewith, since during normal operation, the mixture of the exhaust gas is neither rich or lean whereas during abnormal engine operation, the sensor will detect an abrupt change indicative of the mixture being too rich or too lean.

Thus, the system of Marko et al. is based on the measurement of sensors which affect or are affected by, i.e., are directly associated with, the operation of the electromechanical system for which faults are to be detected. However, the system of Marko et al. does not detect faults in the sensors that are conducting the measurements, e.g., a fault in the exhaust gas oxygen sensor, or faults that are only developing but have not yet manifested themselves or faults in other systems. Rather, the sensors are used to detect a fault in the system after it has occurred.

Asami et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 04,817,418) is directed to a failure diagnosis system for a vehicle including a failure display means for displaying failure information to a driver. This system only reports failures after they have occurred and does not predict them.

Tiernan et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 05,313,407) is directed, inter alia, to a system for providing an exhaust active noise control system, i.e., an electronic muffler system, including an input microphone which senses exhaust noise at a first location in an exhaust duct. An engine has exhaust manifolds feeding exhaust air to the exhaust duct. The exhaust noise sensed by the microphone is processed to obtain an output from an output speaker arranged downstream of the input microphone in the exhaust path in order to cancel the noise in the exhaust duct.

Haramaty et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 05,406,502) describes a system that monitors a machine in a factory and notifies maintenance personnel remote from the machine (not the machine operator) that maintenance should be scheduled at a time when the machine is not in use. Haramaty et al. does not expressly relate to vehicular applications.

NASA Technical Support Package MFS-26529 “Engine Monitoring Based on Normalized Vibration Spectra”, describes a technique for diagnosing engine health using a neural network based system.

A paper “Using acoustic emission signals for monitoring of production processes” by H. K. Tonshoff et al. also provides a good description of how acoustic signals can be used to predict the state of machine tools.

Based on the monitoring of vehicular components, systems and subsystems as well as to the measurement of physical and chemical characteristics relating to the vehicle or its components, systems and subsystems, it becomes possible to control and/or affect one or more vehicular system.

An important component or system which is monitored is the tires as failure of one or more of the tires can often lead to a fatal accident. Indeed, tire monitoring is extremely important since NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) has recently linked 148 deaths and more than 525 injuries in the United States to separations, blowouts and other tread problems in Firestone's ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tires, 5 million of which were recalled in 2000. Many of the tires were standard equipment on the Ford Explorer. Ford recommends that the Firestone tires on the Explorer sport utility vehicle be inflated to 26 psi, while Firestone recommends 30 psi.

It is surprising that a tire can go from a safe condition to an unsafe condition based on an under inflation of 4 psi.

Recent studies in the United States conducted by the Society of Automotive Engineers show that low tire pressure causes about 260,000 accidents annually. Another finding is that about 75% of tire failures each year are preceded by slow air leaks or inadequate tire inflation. Nissan, for example, warns that incorrect tire pressures can compromise the stability and overall handling of a vehicle and can contribute to an accident. Additionally, most non-crash auto fatalities occur while drivers are changing flat tires. Thus, tire failures are clearly a serious automobile safety problem that requires a solution.

About 16% of all car accidents are a result of incorrect tire pressure. Thus, effective pressure and wear monitoring is extremely important. Motor Trend magazine stated that one of the most overlooked maintenance areas on a car is tire pressure. An estimated 40 to 80 percent of all vehicles on the road are operating with under-inflated tires. When under-inflated, a tire tends to flex its sidewall more, increasing its rolling resistance which decreases fuel economy. The extra flex also creates excessive heat in the tire that can shorten its service life.

The Society of Automotive Engineers reports that about 87 percent of all flat tires have a history of under-inflation. About 85% of pressure-loss incidents are slow punctures caused either by small-diameter objects trapped in the tire or by larger diameter nails. The leak will be minor as long as the nail is trapped. If the nail comes out, pressure can decrease rapidly. Incidents of sudden pressure loss are potentially the most dangerous for drivers and account for about 15% of all cases.

A properly inflated tire loses approximately I psi per month. A defective time can lose pressure at a more rapid rate. About 35 percent of the recalled Bridgestone tires had improper repairs.

Research from a variety of sources suggests that under-inflation can be significant to both fuel economy and tire life. Industry experts have determined that tires under-inflated by a mere 10% wear out about 15% faster. An average driver with an average set of tires can drive an extra 5,000 to 7,000 miles before buying new tires by keeping the tire properly inflated.

The American Automobile Association has determined that under inflated tires cut a vehicle's fuel economy by as much as 2% per psi below the recommended level. If each of a car's tires is supposed to have a pressure of 30 psi and instead has a pressure of 25 psi, the car's fuel efficiency drops by about 10%. Depending on the vehicle and miles driven, that could cost from $100 to $500 a year.

The ability to control a vehicle is strongly influenced by tire pressure. When the tire pressure is kept at proper levels, optimum vehicle braking, steering, handling and stability are accomplished. Low tire pressure can also lead to damage to both the tires and wheels.

A Michelin study revealed that the average driver doesn't recognize a low tire until it is 14 psi too low. One of the reasons is that today's radial tire is hard to judge visually because the sidewall flexes even when properly inflated.

Despite all the recent press about keeping tires properly inflated, new research shows that most drivers do not know the correct inflation pressure. In a recent survey, only 45 percent of respondents knew where to look to find the correct pressure, even though 78 percent thought they knew. Twenty-seven percent incorrectly believed the sidewall of the tire carries the correct information and did not know that the sidewall only indicates the maximum pressure for the tire, not the optimum pressure for the vehicle. In another survey, about 60% of the respondents reported that they check tire pressure but only before going on a long trip. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that at least one out of every five tires is not properly inflated.

The problem is exacerbated with the new run-flat tires where a driver may not be aware that a tire is flat until it is destroyed. Run-flat tires can be operated at air pressures below normal for a limited distance and at a restricted speed (125 miles at a maximum of 55 mph). The driver must therefore be warned of changes in the condition of the tires so that she can adapt her driving to the changed conditions.

One solution to this problem is to continuously monitor the pressure and perhaps the temperature in the tire. Pressure loss can be automatically detected in two ways: by directly measuring air pressure within the tire or by indirect tire rotation methods. Various indirect methods are based on the number of revolutions each tire makes over an extended period of time through the ABS system, and others are based on monitoring the frequency changes in the sound emitted by the tire. In the direct detection case, a sensor is mounted into each wheel or tire assembly, each with its own identity. An on-board computer collects the signals, processes and displays the data and triggers a warning signal in the case of pressure loss.

Under-inflation isn't the only cause of sudden tire failure. A variety of mechanical problems including a bad wheel bearing or a “dragging” brake can cause the tire to heat up and fail. In addition, as may have been a contributing factor in the Firestone case, substandard materials can lead to intra-tire friction and a buildup of heat. The use of re-capped truck tires is another example of heat caused failure as a result by intra-tire friction. An overheated tire can fail suddenly without warning.

As discussed in more detail below, tire monitors, such as those disclosed below, permit the driver to check the vehicle tire pressures from inside the vehicle, or even from a remote location.

The Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation Act, (H. R. 5164, or Public Law No. 106-414) known as the TREAD Act, was signed by President Clinton on Nov. 1, 2000. Section 12, TIRE PRESSURE WARNING, states that: “Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation, acting through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, shall complete a rulemaking for a regulation to require a warning system in a motor vehicle to indicate to the operator when a tire is significantly under-inflated. Such requirement shall become effective not later than 2 years after the date of the completion of such rulemaking.” Thus, it is expected that a rule requiring continuous tire monitoring will take effect for the 2004 model year.

This law will dominate the first generation of such systems as automobile manufacturers move to satisfy the requirement. In subsequent years, more sophisticated systems that in addition to pressure will monitor temperature, tire footprint, wear, vibration, etc. Although the Act requires that the tire pressure be monitored, it is believed by the inventors that other parameters are as important as the tire pressure or even more important than the tire pressure as described in more detail below.

Consumers are also in favor of tire monitors. Johnson Controls' market research showed that about 80 percent of consumers believe a low tire pressure warning system is an important or extremely important vehicle feature. Thus, as with other safety products such as airbags, competition to meet customer demands will soon drive this market.

Although, as with most other safety products, the initial introductions will be in the United States, speed limits in the United States and Canada are sufficiently low that tire pressure is not as critical an issue as in Europe, for example, where the drivers often drive much faster.

The advent of microelectromechanical (MEMS) pressure sensors, especially those based on surface acoustical wave (SAW) technology, has now made the wireless and powerless monitoring of tire pressure feasible. This is the basis of the tire pressure monitors described below. According to a Frost and Sullivan report on the U.S. Micromechanical Systems (MEMS) market (June 1997): “A MEMS tire pressure sensor represents one of the most profound opportunities for MEMS in the automotive sector.”

There are many wireless tire temperature and pressure monitoring systems disclosed in the prior art patents such as for example, U.S. Pat. No. 04,295,102, U.S. Pat. No. 04,296,347, U.S. Pat. No. 04,317,372, U.S. Pat. No. 04,534,223, U.S. Pat. No. 05,289,160, U.S. Pat. No. 05,612,671, U.S. Pat. No. 05,661,651, U.S. Pat. No. 05,853,020 and U.S. Pat. No. 05,987,980 and International Publication No. WO 01/07271(A1), all of which are illustrative of the state of the art of tire monitoring.

Devices for measuring the pressure and/or temperature within a vehicle tire directly can be categorized as those containing electronic circuits and a power supply within the tire, those which contain electronic circuits and derive the power to operate these circuits either inductively, from a generator or through radio frequency radiation, and those that do not contain electronic circuits and receive their operating power only from received radio frequency radiation. For the reasons discussed above, the discussion herein is mainly concerned with the latter category. This category contains devices that operate on the principles of surface acoustic waves (SAW) and the disclosure below is concerned primarily with such SAW devices.

International Publication No. WO 01/07271 describes a tire pressure sensor that replaces the valve and valve stem in a tire.

U.S. Pat. No. 05,231,827 contains a good description and background of the tire-monitoring problem. The device disclosed, however, contains a battery and electronics and is not a SAW device. Similarly, the device described in U.S. Pat. No. 05,285,189 contains a battery as do the devices described in U.S. Pat. No. 05,335,540 and U.S. Pat. No. 05,559,484. U.S. Pat. No. 05,945,908 applies to a stationary tire monitoring system and does not use SAW devices.

One of the first significant SAW sensor patents is U.S. Pat. No. 04,534,223. This patent describes the use of SAW devices for measuring pressure and also a variety of methods for temperature compensation but does not mention wireless transmission.

U.S. Pat. No. 05,987,980 describes a tire valve assembly using a SAW pressure transducer in conjunction with a sealed cavity. This patent does disclose wireless transmission. The assembly includes a power supply and thus this also distinguishes it from a preferred system of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein. It is not a SAW system and thus the antenna for interrogating the device in this design must be within one meter, which is closer than needed for a preferred device of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein.

U.S. Pat. No. 05,698,786 relates to the sensors and is primarily concerned with the design of electronic circuits in an interrogator. U.S. Pat. No. 05,700,952 also describes circuitry for use in the interrogator to be used with SAW devices. In neither of these patents is the concept of using a SAW device in a wireless tire pressure monitoring system described. These patents also do not describe including an identification code with the temperature and/or pressure measurements in the sensors and devices.

U.S. Pat. No. 05,804,729 describes circuitry for use with an interrogator in order to obtain more precise measurements of the changes in the delay caused by the physical or chemical property being measured by the SAW device. Similar comments apply to U.S. Pat. No. 05,831,167. Other related prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 04,895,017.

Other patents disclose the placement of an electronic device in the sidewall or opposite the tread of a tire but they do not disclose either an accelerometer or a surface acoustic wave device. In most cases, the disclosed system has a battery and electronic circuits.

One method of measuring pressure that is applicable to at least one of the inventions disclosed herein is disclosed in V. V. Varadan, Y. R. Roh and V. K. Varadan “Local/Global SAW Sensors for Turbulence”, IEEE 1989 Ultrasonics Symposium p. 591-594 makes use of a Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) piezoelectric film to measure pressure. Mention is made in this article that other piezoelectric materials can also be used. Experimental results are given where the height of a column of oil is measured based on the pressure measured by the piezoelectric film used as a SAW device. In particular, the speed of the surface acoustic wave is determined by the pressure exerted by the oil on the SAW device. For the purposes of the instant invention, air pressure can also be measured in a similar manner by first placing a thin layer of a rubber material onto the surface of the SAW device which serves as a coupling agent from the air pressure to the SAW surface. In this manner, the absolute pressure of a tire, for example, can be measured without the need for a diaphragm and reference pressure greatly simplifying the pressure measurement. Other examples of the use of PVDF film as a pressure transducer can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 04,577,510 and 5,341,687, although they are not used as SAW devices.

The following U.S. patents provide relevant information to at least one of the inventions disclosed herein, and to the extent necessary: U.S. Pat. No. 04,361,026, U.S. Pat. No. 04,620,191, U.S. Pat. No. 04,703,327, U.S. Pat. No. 04,724,443, U.S. Pat. No. 04,725,841, U.S. Pat. No. 04,734,698, U.S. Pat. No. 05,691,698, U.S. Pat. No. 05,841,214, U.S. Pat. No. 06,060,815, U.S. Pat. No. 06,107,910, U.S. Pat. No. 06,114,971 and U.S. Pat. No. 06,144,332.

In recent years, SAW devices have been used as sensors in a broad variety of applications. Compared with sensors utilizing alternative technologies, SAW sensors possess outstanding properties, such as high sensitivity, high resolution, and ease of manufacturing by microelectronic technologies. However, the most attractive feature of SAW sensors is that they can be interrogated wirelessly.

U.S. Pat. No. 05,641,902, U.S. Pat. No. 05,819,779 and U.S. Pat. No. 04,103,549 illustrate a valve cap pressure sensor where a visual output is provided. Other related prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 04,545,246.

14. Other Products, Outputs, Features

14.1 Inflator Control

Inflators now exist which will adjust the amount of gas flowing to or from the airbag to account for the size and position of the occupant and for the severity of the accident. The vehicle identification and monitoring system (VIMS) discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 05,829,782, and USRE37260 (a reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 05,943,295) among others, can control such inflators based on the presence and position of vehicle occupants or of a rear facing child seat. Some of the inventions herein are concerned with the process of adapting the vehicle interior monitoring systems to a particular vehicle model and achieving a high system accuracy and reliability as discussed in greater detail below. The automatic adjustment of the deployment rate of the airbag based on occupant identification and position and on crash severity has been termed “smart airbags” and is discussed in great detail in U.S. Pat. No. 06,532,408.

The adjustment of an automobile seat occupied by a driver of the vehicle is now accomplished by the use of either electrical switches and motors or by mechanical levers. As a result, the driver's seat is rarely placed at the proper driving position which is defined as the seat location which places the eyes of the driver in the so-called “eye ellipse” and permits him or her to comfortably reach the pedals and steering wheel. The “eye ellipse” is the optimum eye position relative to the windshield and rear view mirror of the vehicle.

There are a variety of reasons why the eye ellipse, which is actually an ellipsoid, is rarely achieved by the actions of the driver. One reason is the poor design of most seat adjustment systems particularly the so-called “4-way-seat”. It is known that there are three degrees of freedom of a seat bottom, namely vertical, longitudinal, and rotation about the lateral or pitch axis. The 4-way-seat provides four motions to control the seat: (1) raising or lowering the front of the seat, (2) raising or lowering the back of the seat, (3) raising or lowering the entire seat, (4) moving the seat fore and aft. Such a seat adjustment system causes confusion since there are four control motions for three degrees of freedom. As a result, vehicle occupants are easily frustrated by such events as when the control to raise the seat is exercised, the seat not only is raised but is also rotated. Occupants thus find it difficult to place the seat in the optimum location using this system and frequently give up trying leaving the seat in an improper driving position. This problem could be solved by the addition of a microprocessor and the elimination of one switch.

Many vehicles today are equipped with a lumbar support system that is almost never used by most occupants. One reason is that the lumbar support cannot be preset since the shape of the lumbar for different occupants differs significantly, for example a tall person has significantly different lumbar support requirements than a short person. Without knowledge of the size of the occupant, the lumbar support cannot be automatically adjusted.

As discussed in the current assignee's above-referenced '320 patent, in approximately 95% of the cases where an occupant suffers a whiplash injury, the headrest is not properly located to protect him or her in a rear impact collision. Thus, many people are needlessly injured. Also, the stiffness and damping characteristics of a seat are fixed and no attempt is made in any production vehicle to adjust the stiffness and damping of the seat in relation to either the size or weight of an occupant or to the environmental conditions such as road roughness. All of these adjustments, if they are to be done automatically, require knowledge of the morphology of the seat occupant. The inventions disclosed herein provide that knowledge. Other than that of the current assignee, there is no known prior art for the automatic adjustment of the seat based on the driver's morphology. U.S. Pat. No. 04,797,824 to Sugiyama uses visible colored light to locate the eyes of the driver with the assistance of the driver. Once the eye position is determined, the headrest and the seat are adjusted for optimum protection.

U.S. Pat. No. 04,698,571 to Mizuta et al. shows a system for automatically adjusting parts of the vehicle to a predetermined optimum setting for the driver. Buttons are provided with each button controlling a directional movement of the parts of the vehicle, e.g., the seat or rear view mirror. By depressing the button, movement of the part is thus effected. No mention is made of adjusting the steering wheel or enabling adjustment of vehicle parts automatically without manual intervention by the driver.

U.S. Pat. No. 04,811,226 to Shinohara describes an angle adjusting apparatus for adjusting parts of the vehicle in which a seat adjustment switch is provided to enable movement of the seat upon depression of the switch. No mention is made of adjusting the steering wheel or enabling adjustment of vehicle parts automatically without manual intervention by the driver.

14.3 Side Impacts

Side impact airbag systems began appearing on 1995 vehicles. The danger of deployment-induced injuries will exist for side impact airbags as they now do for frontal impact airbags. A child with his head against the airbag is such an example. The system of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein will minimize such injuries. This fact has been also realized, subsequent to its disclosure by the current assignee, by NEC and such a system now appears on Honda vehicles. There is no other known prior art.

14.4 Children and Animals Left Alone

It is a problem in vehicles that children, infants and pets are sometimes left alone, either intentionally or inadvertently, and the temperature in the vehicle rises or falls. The child, infant or pet then suffocates in view of the lack of oxygen in the vehicle or freezes. This problem can be solved by the inventions disclosed herein since the existence of the occupant can be determined as well as the temperature, and even oxygen content if desired, and preventative measures automatically taken. Similarly, children and pets die every year from suffocation after being locked in a vehicle trunk. The sensing of a life form in the trunk is discussed below.

14.5 Vehicle Theft

Another problem relates to the theft of vehicles. With an interior monitoring system, or a variety of other sensors as disclosed herein, connected with a telematics device, the vehicle owner could be notified if someone attempts to steal the vehicle while the owner is away.

14.6 Security, Intruder Protection

There have been incidents when a thief waits in a vehicle until the driver of the vehicle enters the vehicle and then forces the driver to provide the keys and exit the vehicle. Using the inventions herein, a driver can be made aware that the vehicle is occupied before he or she enters and thus he or she can leave and summon help. Motion of an occupant in the vehicle who does not enter the key into the ignition can also be sensed and the vehicle ignition, for example, can be disabled. In more sophisticated cases, the driver can be identified and operation of the vehicle enabled. This would eliminate the need even for a key.

14.7 Entertainment System Control

Once an occupant sensor is operational, the vehicle entertainment system can be improved if the number, size and location of occupants and other objects are known. However, prior to the inventions disclosed herein engineers have not thought to determine the number, size and/or location of the occupants and use such determination in combination with the entertainment system. Indeed, this information can be provided by the vehicle interior monitoring system disclosed herein to thereby improve a vehicle's entertainment system. Once one considers monitoring the space in the passenger compartment, an alternate method of characterizing the sonic environment comes to mind which is to send and receive a test sound to see what frequencies are reflected, absorbed or excite resonances and then adjust the spectral output of the entertainment system accordingly.

As the internal monitoring system improves to where such things as the exact location of the occupants'ears and eyes can be determined, even more significant improvements to the entertainment system become possible through the use of noise canceling sound. It is even possible to beam sound directly to the ears of an occupant using hypersonic-sound if the ear location is known. This permits different occupants to enjoy different programming at the same time.

14.8 HVAC

Similarly to the entertainment system, the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC) could be improved if the number, attributes and location of vehicle occupants were known. This can be used to provide a climate control system tailored to each occupant, for example, or the system can be turned off for certain seat locations if there are no occupants present at those locations.

U.S. Pat. No. 05,878,809 to Heinle, describes an air-conditioning system for a vehicle interior comprising a processor, seat occupation sensor devices, and solar intensity sensor devices. Based on seat occupation and solar intensity data, the processor provides the air-conditioning control of individual air-conditioning outlets and window-darkening devices which are placed near each seat in the vehicle. A residual air-conditioning function device maintains air conditioning operation after vehicle ignition switch-off, which allows specific climate conditions to be maintained after vehicle ignition switch-off for a certain period of time provided at least one seat is occupied. The advantage of this design is the allowance for occupation of certain seats in the vehicle. The drawbacks include the lack of some important sensors of vehicle interior and environment condition (such as temperature or air humidity). It is not possible to set climate conditions individually at locations of each passenger seat.

U.S. Pat. No. 06,454,178 to Fusco, et al. describes an adaptive controller for an automotive HVAC system which controls air temperature and flow at each of locations that conform to passenger seats based on individual settings manually set by passengers at their seats. If the passenger corrects manual settings for his location, this information will be remembered, allowing for climate conditions taking place at other locations and further, will be used to automatically tune the air temperature and flow at the locations allowing for climate conditions at other locations. The device does not use any sensors of the interior vehicle conditions or the exterior environment, nor any seat occupation sensing.

14.9 Obstruction Sensing

In some cases, the position of a particular part of the occupant is of interest such as his or her hand or arm and whether it is in the path of a closing window or sliding door so that the motion of the window or door needs to be stopped. Most anti-trap systems, as they are called, are based on the current flow in a motor. When the window, for example, is obstructed, the current flow in the window motor increases. Such systems are prone to errors caused by dirt or ice in the window track, for example. Prior art on window obstruction sensing is essentially limited to the Prospect Corporation anti-trap system described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,686 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,157,024. Anti-trap systems are discussed in detail in the current assignee's pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/152,160 filed May 21, 2002, incorporated by reference herein.

Closures for apertures such as vehicle windows, sunroofs and sliding doors, and soon swinging doors, are now commonly motor-driven. As a further convenience to an operator or passenger of a vehicle, such power windows are frequently provided with control features for the automatic closing and opening of an aperture following a simple, short command from the operator or passenger. For instance, a driver's side window may be commanded to rise from any lowered position to a completely closed position simply by momentarily elevating a portion of a window control switch, then releasing the switch. This is sometimes referred to as an “express close” feature. This feature is commonly provided in conjunction with vehicle sunroofs. Auto manufacturers may also provide these features in conjunction with power doors, hatches or the like. Such automated aperture closing features may also be utilized in various other home or industrial settings.

Other convenience features now being offered for use on vehicles include environmental venting modes, in which vehicle windows are automatically lowered or opened a prescribed distance once a control system determines a certain temperature threshold, internal or external, has been met or exceeded. In addition, a precipitation detection system may be provided for sensing the advent of precipitation and for automatically closing a sunroof, windows or an automatic door. These specific examples pertain to vehicles, though other instances of automatic aperture adjustment are known to one skilled in the art.

In addition to providing added convenience, however, such features introduce a previously unencountered safety hazard. Body parts or inanimate objects may be present within an aperture when a command is given to automatically close the aperture. For example, an automatic window closing feature may be activated due to rain while a pet in the vehicle has its head outside a window. A further example includes a child who has placed his or her head through a window or sunroof and then he or she accidentally initiates an express close operation.

In order to avoid tragic and damaging accidents involving obstacles entrapped by a power window, some vehicles are now provided with systems which detect a condition where a window has been commanded to express close, but which has not completed the operation after a given period of time. As an example, a system may monitor the time it takes for a window to reach a closed state. If a time threshold is exceeded, the window is automatically lowered. Another system monitors the current drain attributed to the motor driving the window. If it exceeds a threshold at an inappropriate time during the closing operation, the window is again lowered.

The problem with such safety systems is that an obstacle must first be entrapped and subject to the closing force of the window or other closure for a discrete period of time before the safety mechanism lowers the window. Limbs may be bruised and fragile objects may be broken by such systems. In addition, if a mechanical failure in the window driving system occurs or if a fuse is blown, the obstacle may remain entrapped.

To address these shortcomings, a system has been proposed which monitors the environment adjacent to or within an aperture, and which may be used as an obstacle detection system, among other applications. This system may be used in conjunction with a power window to prevent activation of an express close mode, to stop such a mode once in progress, or to exit an express close mode and automatically reverse the window motion. The system comprises an emitter positioned in proximity to the aperture to emit a field of radiation adjacent the aperture. A detector is also provided which normally receives radiation reflected from one or more surfaces proximate the aperture. When an obstacle enters the radiation field, it alters the amount of reflected radiation received at the detector. This alteration, if sufficient to meet or exceed a threshold value, can be used to prevent, stop or reverse an express close mode, to activate a warning annunciator, or to initiate some other action.

The economics of producing such a system dictate that it is not feasible to produce a system custom-tailored for the environment of every vehicle in which it is installed. This is also true if the system is installed for some other non-vehicle application. Therefore, depending upon the reflecting characteristics of the environment proximate the aperture, the system detector will provide varying degrees of sensitivity. In one embodiment where the detector registers a high degree of reflectivity from the environment and is triggered by an obstacle which decreases the reflected radiation, it is desirable that the environmental reflectance be maximized. In contrast, in an embodiment where the detector senses a minimum of reflected radiation normally and is triggered by a higher degree of reflectance from an obstacle, it is desired to minimize environmentally reflected radiation. In vehicle applications, radiation reflectance is likely to vary between vehicle manufacturers, between vehicle models and model years, and between individual vehicles, due to the physical orientation of surfaces adjacent an aperture and the materials comprising such surfaces.

Additionally, reflecting surfaces adjacent the aperture tend to alter over time. For vehicles, such alteration may be across manufacturers, models, model years and individual vehicles. Thus, a monitoring system initially optimized for a particular environment may not be optimized for the useful life of the system. In the worst case, environmental changes are sufficient to cause reflected energy to register in the system as an obstacle when no obstacle is present.

U.S. Pat. No. 06,157,024 (Chapdelaine et al.) describes a monitoring system for use in detecting the presence of an obstacle in or proximate to an aperture. Materials are applied to one or more reflecting surfaces adjacent the aperture, enabling the improvement of the signal-to-noise ratio in the system without requiring tuning of the system for the particular environment. The choice of specific materials depends upon the type of radiation used for aperture monitoring and whether an obstacle is detected as an increase or decrease in reflected radiation. A calibration LED within the monitoring system enables predictable performance over a range of temperatures. The monitoring system is also provided with the capacity to adjust to variations in the background-reflected radiation, either automatically by monitoring trends in system performance or by external command. The latter case includes the use of a further element for communicating to the monitoring system directly or indirectly.

The device of Chapdelaine et al. suffers from the problem that its performance depends on the known and calibrated reflectivity of the reflecting edge surface of the aperture. These are special materials that are applied to such reflective surfaces. The reflection properties of such surfaces can change over the life of the vehicle and although some effort is made to compensate for this change, if the properties of such surfaces change, the system can fail. Thus, a system that does not depend on the reflective properties of the aperture edges would not require the application of special materials to such surfaces and would also remove this failure mode. A calibration LED is used in the Chapdelaine et al. device that is also a source of additional failure modes and thus the elimination of this device will improve the reliability of the system.

Winner et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,031,600) describes a method for determining the presence and distance of an object within a resolution cell. A comparison is made of the phase difference between a reflected electromagnetic wave signal (Se) and an electronically generated reference signal (Ss) whose phase relationship is independent of distance. The measured value is compared to predetermined stored values for which distances are known. To generate signal Ss, the output signal of a clock generator is conveyed through an output stage 37, an LED 38, a fiber optic cable 39, a photodiode 40 and a preamplifier 41 (see FIG. 2). Winner et al. does not disclose a measuring system which measures a reference phase change between emitted and received waves when an object is known not to be present in the aperture. Rather, Winner et al. artificially generates the reference signal so that variations in the wave path and properties of the air in the wave path are not reflected in the artificially generated signal and can result in an inaccurate comparisons of the reference signal to the reflected wave signal. Moreover, Winner et al. does not determine a reference phase change and an operative phase change using the same measuring technique, e.g., by directing illuminating electromagnetic waves toward at least a portion of a frame defining the aperture, modulating the illuminating electromagnetic waves, receiving electromagnetic waves reflected from the illuminated portion of the frame and measuring a phase change between the modulated electromagnetic waves and the received electromagnetic waves. Rather, the reference signal is artificially generated.

14.10 Rear Impacts

The largest use of hospital beds in the United States is by automobile accident victims. The largest use of these hospital beds is for victims of rear impacts. The rear impact is the most expensive accident in America. The inventions herein teach a method of determining the position of the rear of the occupants head so that the headrest can be adjusted to minimize whiplash injuries in rear impacts.

Approximately 100,000 rear impacts per year result in whiplash injuries to the vehicle occupants. Most of these injuries could be prevented if the headrest were properly positioned behind the head of the occupant and if it had the correct contour to properly support the head and neck of the occupant. Whiplash injuries are the most expensive automobile accident injury even though these injuries are usually are not life-threatening and are usually classified as minor.

A good discussion of the causes of whiplash injuries in motor vehicle accidents can be found in Dellanno et al, U.S. Pat. No. 05,181,763 and U.S. Pat. No. 05,290,091, and Dellanno patents U.S. Pat. No. 05,580,124, U.S. Pat. No. 05,769,489 and U.S. Pat. No. 05,961,182, as well as many other technical papers. These patents discuss a novel automatic adjustable headrest to minimize such injuries. However, these patents assume that the headrest is properly positioned relative to the head of the occupant. A survey has shown that as many as 95% of automobiles do not have the headrest properly positioned. These patents also assume that all occupants have approximately the same contour of the neck and head. Observations of humans, on the other hand, show that significant differences occur where the back of some people's heads is almost in the same plane as that of their neck and shoulders, while other people have substantially the opposite case, that is, their neck extends significantly forward of their head back and shoulders.

One proposed attempt at solving the problem where the headrest is not properly positioned uses a conventional crash sensor which senses the crash after impact and a headrest composed of two portions, a fixed portion and a movable portion. During a rear impact, a sensor senses the crash and pyrotechnically deploys a portion of the headrest toward the occupant. This system has the following potential problems:

1) An occupant can get a whiplash injury in fairly low velocity rear impacts; thus, either the system will not protect occupants in such accidents or there will be a large number of low velocity deployments with the resulting significant repair expense.

2) If the portion of the headrest which is propelled toward the occupant has significant mass, that is if it is other than an airbag type device, there is a risk that it will injure the occupant. This is especially true if the system has no method of sensing and adjusting for the position of the occupant.

3) If the system does not also have a system which pre-positions the headrest to the proximity of the occupant's head, it will also not be effective when the occupant's head has moved forward due to pre-crash braking, for example, or for different-sized occupants.

A variation of this approach uses an airbag positioned in the headrest which is activated by a rear impact crash sensor. This system suffers the same problems as the pyrotechnically deployed headrest portion. Unless the headrest is pre-positioned, there is a risk for the out-of-position occupant.

U.S. Pat. No. 05,833,312 to Lenz describes several methods for protecting an occupant from whiplash injuries using the motion of the occupant loading the seat back to stretch a canvas or deploy an airbag using fluid contained within a bag inside the seat back. In the latter case, the airbag deploys out of the top of the seat back and between the occupant's head and the headrest. The system is based on the proposed fact that: “[F]irstly the lower part of the body reacts and is pressed, by a heavy force, against the lower part of the seat back, thereafter the upper part of the body trunk is pressed back, and finally the back of the head and the head is thrown back against the upper part of the seat back . . . . ” (Col. 2 lines 47-53). Actually this does not appear to be what occurs. Instead, the vehicle, and thus the seat that is attached to it, begins to decelerate while the occupant continues at its pre-crash velocity. Those parts of the occupant that are in contact with the seat experience a force from the seat and begin to slow down while other parts, the head for example, continue moving at the pre-crash velocity. In other words, all parts of the body are “thrown back” at the same time. That is, they all have the same relative velocity relative to the seat until acted on by the seat itself. Although there will be some mechanical advantage due to the fact that the area in contact with the occupant's back will generally be greater than the area needed to support his or her head, there generally will not be sufficient motion of the back to pump sufficient gas into the airbag to cause it to be projected in between the headrest and the head that is not rapidly moving toward the headrest. In some cases, the occupant's head is very close to the headrest and in others it is far away. For all cases except when the occupant's head is very far away, there is insufficient time for motion of the occupant's back to pump air and inflate the airbag and position it between the head and the headrest. Thus, not only will the occupant impact the headrest and receive whiplash injuries, but it will also receive an additional impact from the deploying airbag.

Lenz also suggests that for those cases where additional deployment speed is required, the output from a crash sensor could be used in conjunction with a pyrotechnic element. Since he does not mention anticipatory crash sensor, which were not believed to be available at the time of the filing of the Lenz patent application, it must be assumed that a conventional crash sensor is contemplated. As discussed herein, this is either too slow or unreliable since if it is set so sensitive that it will work for low speed impacts where many whiplash injuries occur, there will be many deployments and the resulting high repair costs. For higher speed crashes, the deployment time will be too slow based on the close position of the occupant to the airbag. Thus, if a crash sensor is used, it must be an anticipatory crash sensor as disclosed herein.

14.11 Combined with SDM and Other Systems

The above applications illustrate the wide range of opportunities, which become available if the identity and location of various objects and occupants, and some of their parts, within the vehicle are known. Once the system is operational, it would be logical for the system to also incorporate the airbag electronic sensor and diagnostics system (SDM) since it needs to interface with SDM anyway and since they could share a power supply, some circuitry and computer capabilities, which will result in a significant cost saving to the auto manufacturer. For the same reasons, it would be logical for a monitoring system to include the side impact sensor and diagnostic system. As the monitoring system improves to where such things as the exact location of the occupants' ears and eyes can be determined, even more significant improvements to the entertainment system become possible through the use of noise canceling sound, and the rear view mirror can be automatically adjusted for the driver's eye location. Another example involves the monitoring of the driver's behavior over time, which can be used to warn a driver if he or she is falling asleep, or to stop the vehicle if the driver loses the capacity to control it.

14.13 Monitoring of Other Vehicles Such as Cargo Containers, Truck Trailers and Railroad Cars

The following is from “Occupational Health & Safety” Publication date: 2003-08-01“: “Each year, $12.5 trillion of merchandise is traded worldwide, using more than 200 million intermodal containers. Ninety percent of these shipments are between seaports. Unsecured freight represents a global security threat, both in terms of potentially lost merchandise value and the crippling of the global trading economy. Additionally, containerized freight provides a means of directly transporting harmful biological, chemical, and radioactive materials into both the United States and its allies. A Brookings Institute study estimated the Gross Domestic Product impact of a shipment, via container, of weapons of mass destruction at a major port “ . . . would cause extended shutdown in deliveries, physical destruction and lost production in contaminated areas; massive loss of life; and medical treatment of survivors. Potential cost: up to $1 trillion.”

The technology disclosed herein can be used to minimize this threat. Electronic seals now exist that provide assurance the container has not been opened once it has been sealed. This is not a complete solution as it is still possible to introduce hazardous cargo into the container prior to sealing or the container could be violated during transit and the seal reinstalled. Better protection of course comes from monitoring the contents of the container with radiation, chemical, and other sensors as described below coupled with an appropriate telematics system.

Many issues are now arising that render a low power remote asset monitoring system desirable. Some of these issues developed from the terrorist threat to the United States since Sep. 11, 2001, and the concern of anti-terrorist personnel with the relatively free and unmonitored transportation of massive amounts of material throughout the United States by trains, trucks, and ships. A system that permits monitoring of the contents of these shipping containers could substantially reduce this terrorist threat.

The FBI has recently stated that cargo crime is conservatively estimated at about $12 billion. per year. It is the fastest growing crime problem in the United States. Other areas of criminal activity involve shipments imported into the United States that are used to conceal illegal goods including weapons, illegal immigrants, narcotics, and products that violate trademarks and patents. The recent concern on the potential use of cargo containers as weapons of mass destruction is also causing great pressure to improve information, inspection, tracking and monitoring technologies. Furthermore, the movement of hazardous cargo and the potential for sabotage is also causing increased concern among law enforcement agencies and resulting in increasing demands for security for such hazardous cargo shipments.

A low cost low power monitoring system of cargo containers and their contents could substantially solve these problems.

Cargo security is defined as the safe and reliable intermodal movement of goods from the shipper to the eventual destination with no loss due to theft or damage. Cargo security is concerned with the key assets that move the cargo including containers, trailers, chassis, tractors, vessels and rail cars as well as the cargo itself. Modern manufacturing methods requiring just-in-time delivery further place a premium on cargo security.

The recent increase in cargo theft and the concern for homeland security are thus placing new demands on cargo security and because of the large number of carriers and storage locations, inexpensive systems are needed to continuously monitor the status of cargo from the time that it leaves the shipper until it reaches its final destination. Technological advancements such as the global positioning system (GPS), and improved communication systems, including wireless telecommunications via satellites, and the Internet have created a situation where such an inexpensive system is now possible.

To partially respond to these concerns, projects are underway to remotely monitor the geographic location of shipping containers as well as the tractors and chassis, boats, planes and railroad cars that move these containers or cargo in general. The ability exists now for communicating limited amounts of information from shipping containers directly to central computers and the Internet using satellites and other telematics communication devices.

In some prior art systems, cargo containers are sealed with electronic cargo seals, the integrity of which can be remotely monitored. Knowledge of the container's location as well as the seal integrity are vital pieces of information that can contribute to solving the problems mentioned above. However, this is not sufficient and the addition of various sensors and remote monitoring of these sensors is now not only possible but necessary.

Emerging technology now permits the monitoring of some safety and status information on the chassis such as tire pressures, brake system status, lights, geographical location, generator performance, and container security and this information can now be telecommunicated to a remote location. At least one of the inventions disclosed herein is concerned with these additional improvements to the remote reporting system.

Additionally, biometric information can be used to validate drivers of vehicles containing hazardous cargo to minimize terrorist activities involving these materials. This data needs to be available remotely especially if there is a sudden change in drivers. Similarly, any deviation from the authorized route can now be detected and this also needs to be remotely reported. Much of the above-mentioned prior art activity is in bits and pieces, that is, it is available on the vehicle and sometimes to the dispatching station while the vehicle is on the premises. It now needs to be available to a central monitoring location at all times. Homeland security issues arising out the components that make up the cargo transportation system including tractors, trailers, chassis, containers and railroad cars, will only be eliminated when the contents of all such elements are known, monitored, and thus the misappropriation of such assets eliminated. The shipping system or process that takes place in the United States should guarantee that all shipping containers contain only the appropriate contents and are always on the proper route from their source to their destination and on schedule. At least one of the inventions disclosed herein is concerned with achieving this 100 percent system primarily through low power remote monitoring of the assets that make up the shipping system.

The system that is described herein for monitoring shipping assets and the contents of shipping containers can also be used for a variety of other asset monitoring problems including the monitoring of unattended boats, cabins, summer homes, private airplanes, sheds, warehouses, storage facilities and other remote unattended facilities. With additional sensors, the quality of the environment, the integrity of structures, the presence of unwanted contaminants etc. can also now be monitored and reported on an exception basis through a low power, essentially maintenance-free monitoring and reporting system in accordance with the invention as described herein.

15. Definitions

Preferred embodiments of the invention are described below and unless specifically noted, it is the applicants' intention that the words and phrases in the specification and claims be given the ordinary and accustomed meaning to those of ordinary skill in the applicable art(s). If the applicants intend any other meaning, they will specifically state they are applying a special meaning to a word or phrase.

Likewise, applicants' use of the word “function” here is not intended to indicate that the applicants seek to invoke the special provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph, to define their invention. To the contrary, if applicants wish to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph, to define their invention, they will specifically set forth in the claims the phrases “means for” or “step for” and a function, without also reciting in that phrase any structure, material or act in support of the function. Moreover, even if applicants invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph, to define their invention, it is the applicants' intention that their inventions not be limited to the specific structure, material or acts that are described in the preferred embodiments herein. Rather, if applicants claim their inventions by specifically invoking the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph, it is nonetheless their intention to cover and include any and all structure, materials or acts that perform the claimed function, along with any and all known or later developed equivalent structures, materials or acts for performing the claimed function.

“Pattern recognition” as used herein will generally mean any system which processes a signal that is generated by an object (e.g., representative of a pattern of returned or received impulses, waves or other physical property specific to and/or characteristic of and/or representative of that object) or is modified by interacting with an object, in order to determine to which one of a set of classes that the object belongs. Such a system might determine only that the object is or is not a member of one specified class, or it might attempt to assign the object to one of a larger set of specified classes, or find that it is not a member of any of the classes in the set. The signals processed are generally a series of electrical signals coming from transducers that are sensitive to acoustic (ultrasonic) or electromagnetic radiation (e.g., visible light, infrared radiation, capacitance or electric and/or magnetic fields), although other sources of information are frequently included. Pattern recognition systems generally involve the creation of a set of rules that permit the pattern to be recognized. These rules can be created by fuzzy logic systems, statistical correlations, or through sensor fusion methodologies as well as by trained pattern recognition systems such as neural networks, combination neural networks, cellular neural networks or support vector machines.

A trainable or a trained pattern recognition system as used herein generally means a pattern recognition system that is taught to recognize various patterns constituted within the signals by subjecting the system to a variety of examples. The most successful such system is the neural network used either singly or as a combination of neural networks. Thus, to generate the pattern recognition algorithm, test data is first obtained which constitutes a plurality of sets of returned waves, or wave patterns, or other information radiated or obtained from an object (or from the space in which the object will be situated in the passenger compartment, i.e., the space above the seat) and an indication of the identify of that object. A number of different objects are tested to obtain the unique patterns from each object. As such, the algorithm is generated, and stored in a computer processor, and which can later be applied to provide the identity of an object based on the wave pattern being received during use by a receiver connected to the processor and other information. For the purposes here, the identity of an object sometimes applies to not only the object itself but also to its location and/or orientation in the passenger compartment. For example, a rear facing child seat is a different object than a forward facing child seat and an out-of-position adult can be a different object than a normally seated adult. Not all pattern recognition systems are trained systems and not all trained systems are neural networks. Other pattern recognition systems are based on fuzzy logic, sensor fusion, Kalman filters, correlation as well as linear and non-linear regression. Still other pattern recognition systems are hybrids of more than one system such as neural-fuzzy systems.

The use of pattern recognition, or more particularly how it is used, is important to many embodiments of the instant invention. In the above-cited prior art, except that assigned to the current assignee, pattern recognition which is based on training, as exemplified through the use of neural networks, is not mentioned for use in monitoring the interior passenger compartment or exterior environments of the vehicle in all of the aspects of the invention disclosed herein. Thus, the methods used to adapt such systems to a vehicle are also not mentioned.

To “identify” as used herein will generally mean to determine that the object belongs to a particular set or class. The class may be one containing, for example, all rear facing child seats, one containing all human occupants, or all human occupants not sitting in a rear facing child seat, or all humans in a certain height or weight range depending on the purpose of the system. In the case where a particular person is to be recognized, the set or class will contain only a single element, i.e., the person to be recognized.

To “ascertain the identity of as used herein with reference to an object will generally mean to determine the type or nature of the object (obtain information as to what the object is), i.e., that the object is an adult, an occupied rear facing child seat, an occupied front facing child seat, an unoccupied rear facing child seat, an unoccupied front facing child seat, a child, a dog, a bag of groceries, a car, a truck, a tree, a pedestrian, a deer etc.

An “object” in a vehicle or an “occupying item” of a seat may be a living occupant such as a human or a dog, another living organism such as a plant, or an inanimate object such as a box or bag of groceries or an empty child seat.

A “rear seat” of a vehicle as used herein will generally mean any seat behind the front seat on which a driver sits. Thus, in minivans or other large vehicles where there are more than two rows of seats, each row of seats behind the driver is considered a rear seat and thus there may be more than one “rear seat” in such vehicles. The space behind the front seat includes any number of such rear seats as well as any trunk spaces or other rear areas such as are present in station wagons.

An “optical image” will generally mean any type of image obtained using electromagnetic radiation including X-ray, ultraviolet, visual, infrared, terahertz and radar radiation.

In the description herein on anticipatory sensing, the term “approaching” when used in connection with the mention of an object or vehicle approaching another will usually mean the relative motion of the object toward the vehicle having the anticipatory sensor system. Thus, in a side impact with a tree, the tree will be considered as approaching the side of the vehicle and impacting the vehicle. In other words, the coordinate system used in general will be a coordinate system residing in the target vehicle. The “target” vehicle is the vehicle that is being impacted. This convention permits a general description to cover all of the cases such as where (i) a moving vehicle impacts into the side of a stationary vehicle, (ii) where both vehicles are moving when they impact, or (iii) where a vehicle is moving sideways into a stationary vehicle, tree or wall.

“Vehicle” as used herein includes any container that is movable either under its own power or using power from another vehicle. It includes, but is not limited to, automobiles, trucks, railroad cars, ships, airplanes, trailers, shipping containers, barges, etc. The term “container” will frequently be used interchangeably with vehicle however a container will generally mean that part of a vehicle that separate from and in some cases may exist separately and away from the source of motive power. Thus, a shipping container may exist in a shipping yard and a trailer may be parked in a parking lot without the tractor. The passenger compartment or a trunk of an automobile, on the other hand, are compartments of a container that generally only exists attaches to the vehicle chassis that also has an associated engine for moving the vehicle. Note, a container can have one or a plurality of compartments.

“Out-of-position” as used for an occupant will generally mean that the occupant, either the driver or a passenger, is sufficiently close to an occupant protection apparatus (airbag) prior to deployment that he or she is likely to be more seriously injured by the deployment event itself than by the accident. It may also mean that the occupant is not positioned appropriately in order to attain the beneficial, restraining effects of the deployment of the airbag. As for the occupant being too close to the airbag, this typically occurs when the occupant's head or chest is closer than some distance, such as about 5 inches, from the deployment door of the airbag module. The actual distance where airbag deployment should be suppressed depends on the design of the airbag module and is typically farther for the passenger airbag than for the driver airbag.

“Dynamic out-of-position” refers to the situation where a vehicle occupant, either driver or passenger, is in position at a point in time prior to an accident but becomes out-of-position, (that is, too close to the airbag module so that he or she could be injured or killed by the deployment of the airbag) prior to the deployment of the airbag due to pre-crash braking or other action which causes the vehicle to decelerate prior to a crash.

“Transducer” or “transceiver” as used herein will generally mean the combination of a transmitter and a receiver. In come cases, the same device will serve both as the transmitter and receiver while in others two separate devices adjacent to each other will be used. In some cases, a transmitter is not used and in such cases transducer will mean only a receiver. Transducers include, for example, capacitive, inductive, ultrasonic, electromagnetic (antenna, CCD, CMOS arrays), electric field, weight measuring or sensing devices. In some cases, a transducer will be a single pixel either acting alone, in a linear or an array of some other appropriate shape. In some cases, a transducer may comprise two parts such as the plates of a capacitor or the antennas of an electric field sensor. Sometimes, one antenna or plate will communicate with several other antennas or plates and thus for the purposes herein, a transducer will be broadly defined to refer, in most cases, to any one of the plates of a capacitor or antennas of a field sensor and in some other cases, a pair of such plates or antennas will comprise a transducer as determined by the context in which the term is used.

“Thermal instability” or “thermal gradients” refers to the situation where a change in air density causes a change in the path of ultrasonic waves from what the path would be in the absence of the density change. This density change ordinarily occurs due to a change in the temperature of a portion of the air through which the ultrasonic waves travel. The high speed flow of air (wind) through the passenger compartment can cause a similar effect. Thermal instability is generally caused by the sun beating down on the top of a closed vehicle (“long-term thermal instability”) of through the operation of the heater or air conditioner (“short-term thermal instability”). Of course, other heat sources can cause a similar effect and thus the term as used herein is not limited to the examples provided.

“Adaptation” as used here will generally represent the method by which a particular occupant or object sensing system is designed and arranged for a particular vehicle model. It includes such things as the process by which the number, kind and location of various transducers are determined. For pattern recognition systems, it includes the process by which the pattern recognition system is designed and then taught or made to recognize the desired patterns. In this connection, it will usually include (1) the method of training when training is used, (2) the makeup of the databases used, testing and validating the particular system, or, in the case of a neural network, the particular network architecture chosen, (3) the process by which environmental influences are incorporated into the system, and (4) any process for determining the pre-processing of the data or the post processing of the results of the pattern recognition system. The above list is illustrative and not exhaustive. Basically, adaptation includes all of the steps that are undertaken to adapt transducers and other sources of information to a particular vehicle to create the system that accurately identifies and/or determines the location of an occupant or other object in a vehicle.

For the purposes herein, a “neural network” is defined to include all such learning systems including cellular neural networks, support vector machines and other kernel-based learning systems and methods, cellular automata and all other pattern recognition methods and systems that learn. A “combination neural network” as used herein will generally apply to any combination of two or more neural networks as most broadly defined that are either connected together or that analyze all or a portion of the input data. “Neural network” can also be defined as a system wherein the data to be processed is separated into discrete values which are then operated on and combined in at least a two-stage process and where the operation performed on the data at each stage is in general different for each of the discrete values and where the operation performed is at least determined through a training process. The operation performed is typically a multiplication by a particular coefficient or weight and by different operation, therefore is meant in this example, that a different weight is used for each discrete value.

A “wave sensor” or “wave transducer” is generally any device which senses either ultrasonic or electromagnetic waves. An electromagnetic wave sensor, for example, includes devices that sense any portion of the electromagnetic spectrum from ultraviolet down to a few hertz. The most commonly used kinds of electromagnetic wave sensors include CCD and CMOS arrays for sensing visible and/or infrared waves, millimeter wave and microwave radar, and capacitive or electric and/or magnetic field monitoring sensors that rely on the dielectric constant of the object occupying a space but also rely on the time variation of the field, expressed by waves as defined below, to determine a change in state.

A “CCD” will be generally defined to include all devices, including CMOS arrays, APS arrays, focal plane arrays, QWIP arrays or equivalent, artificial retinas and particularly HDRC arrays, which are capable of converting light frequencies, including infrared, visible and ultraviolet, into electrical signals. The particular CCD array used for many of the applications disclosed herein is implemented on a single chip that is less than two centimeters on a side. Data from the CCD array is digitized and sent serially to an electronic circuit containing a microprocessor for analysis of the digitized data. In order to minimize the amount of data that needs to be stored, initial processing of the image data takes place as it is being received from the CCD array, as discussed in more detail elsewhere herein. In some cases, some image processing can take place on the chip such as described in the Kage et al. artificial retina article referenced above.

The “windshield header” as used herein generally includes the space above the front windshield including the first few inches of the roof.

A “sensor” as used herein can be a single receiver or the combination of two transducers (a transmitter and a receiver) or one transducer which can both transmit and receive.

The “headliner” is the trim which provides the interior surface to the roof of the vehicle and the A-pillar is the roof-supporting member which is on either side of the windshield and on which the front doors are hinged.

An “occupant protection apparatus” is any device, apparatus, system or component which is actuatable or deployable or includes a component which is actuatable or deployable for the purpose of attempting to reduce injury to the occupant in the event of a crash, rollover or other potential injurious event involving a vehicle As used herein, a diagnosis of the “state of the vehicle” generally means a diagnosis of the condition of the vehicle with respect to its stability and proper running and operating condition. Thus, the state of the vehicle could be normal when the vehicle is operating properly on a highway or abnormal when, for example, the vehicle is experiencing excessive angular inclination (e.g., two wheels are off the ground and the vehicle is about to rollover), the vehicle is experiencing a crash, the vehicle is skidding, and other similar situations. A diagnosis of the state of the vehicle could also be an indication that one of the parts of the vehicle, e.g., a component, system or subsystem, is operating abnormally.

As used herein, an “occupant restraint device” generally includes any type of device which is deployable in the event of a crash involving the vehicle for the purpose of protecting an occupant from the effects of the crash and/or minimizing the potential injury to the occupant. Occupant restraint devices thus include frontal airbags, side airbags, seatbelt tensioners, knee bolsters, side curtain airbags, externally deployable airbags and the like.

As used herein, a “part” of the vehicle generally includes any component, sensor, system or subsystem of the vehicle such as the steering system, braking system, throttle system, navigation system, airbag system, seatbelt retractor, air bag inflation valve, air bag inflation controller and airbag vent valve, as well as those listed below in the definitions of “component” and “sensor”.

As used herein, a “sensor system” generally includes any of the sensors listed below in the definition of “sensor” as well as any type of component or assembly of components which detect, sense or measure something.

The term “gage” or “gauge” is used herein interchangeably with the terms “sensor” and “sensing device”.

REFERENCES

The following references are potentially relevant to the subject matter of the claimed invention and relevant to the disclosure herein.

Briefly, the claimed inventions are methods and arrangements for obtaining information about an object in a vehicle as vehicle is defined above. This determination is used in various methods and arrangements for, for example, controlling occupant protection devices in the event of a vehicle crash and/or adjusting various vehicle components.

At least one of the inventions disclosed herein includes a system to sense the presence, position and/or type of an occupying item such as a child seat in a passenger compartment of a motor vehicle and more particularly, to identify and monitor the occupying items and their parts and other objects in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, such as an automobile or truck, by processing one or more signals received from the occupying items and their parts and other objects using one or more of a variety of pattern recognition techniques and illumination technologies. The received signal(s) may be a reflection of a transmitted signal, the reflection of some natural signal within the vehicle, or may be some signal emitted naturally by the object. Information obtained by the identification and monitoring system is then used to affect the operation of some other system in the vehicle.

At least one of the inventions disclosed herein is also a system designed to identify, locate and/or monitor occupants, including their parts, and other objects in the passenger compartment and in particular an occupied child seat in the rear facing position or an out-of-position occupant, by illuminating the contents of the vehicle with ultrasonic or electromagnetic radiation, for example, by transmitting radiation waves, as broadly defined above to include capacitors and electric or magnetic fields, from a wave generating apparatus into a space above the seat, and receiving radiation modified by passing through the space above the seat using two or more transducers properly located in the vehicle passenger compartment, in specific predetermined optimum locations.

More particularly, at least one of the inventions disclosed herein relates to a system including a plurality of transducers appropriately located and mounted and which analyze the received radiation from any object which modifies the waves or fields, or which analyze a change in the received radiation caused by the presence of the object (e.g., a change in the dielectric constant), in order to achieve an accuracy of recognition previously not possible to achieve in the past. Outputs from the receivers are analyzed by appropriate computational means employing trained pattern recognition technologies, and in particular combination neural networks, to classify, identify and/or locate the contents, and/or determine the orientation of, for example, a rear facing child seat.

In general, the information obtained by the identification and monitoring system is used to affect the operation of some other system, component or device in the vehicle and particularly the passenger and/or driver airbag systems, which may include a front airbag, a side airbag, a knee bolster, or combinations of the same. However, the information obtained can be used for controlling and/or affecting the operation of a multitude of other vehicle or in some cases, non-vehicle resident systems.

When the vehicle interior monitoring system in accordance with the invention is installed in the passenger compartment of an automotive vehicle equipped with an occupant protection apparatus, such as an inflatable airbag, and the vehicle is subjected to a crash of sufficient severity that the crash sensor has determined that the airbag is to be deployed, the system has determined (usually prior to the deployment) whether a child placed in the child seat in the rear facing position is present and if so, a signal has been sent to the control circuitry that the airbag should be controlled and most likely disabled and not deployed in the crash.

It must be understood though that instead of suppressing deployment, it is possible that the deployment may be controlled so that it might provide some meaningful protection for the occupied rear-facing child seat. The system developed using the teachings of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein also determines the position of the vehicle occupant relative to the airbag and controls and possibly disables deployment of the airbag if the occupant is positioned so that he or she is likely to be injured by the deployment of the airbag. As before, the deployment is not necessarily disabled but may be controlled to provide protection for the out-of-position occupant.

The invention also includes methods and arrangements for obtaining information about an object in a vehicle. This determination is used in various methods and arrangements for, e.g., controlling occupant protection devices in the event of a vehicle crash. The determination can also used in various methods and arrangements for, e.g., controlling heating and air-conditioning systems to optimize the comfort for any occupants, controlling an entertainment system as desired by the occupants, controlling a glare prevention device for the occupants, preventing accidents by a driver who is unable to safely drive the vehicle and enabling an effective and optimal response in the event of a crash (either oral directions to be communicated to the occupants or the dispatch of personnel to aid the occupants). Thus, one objective of the invention is to obtain information about occupancy of a vehicle and convey this information to remotely situated assistance personnel to optimize their response to a crash involving the vehicle and/or enable proper assistance to be rendered to the occupant(s) after the crash.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide new and improved apparatus for obtaining information about an occupying item on a vehicle seat which apparatus may be integrated into vehicular component adjustment apparatus and methods which evaluate the occupancy of the seat and adjust the location and/or orientation relative to the occupant and/or operation of a part of the component or the component in its entirety based on the evaluated occupancy of the seat.

Some other objects related to general occupant sensors are:

To provide a new and improved system for identifying the presence, position and/or orientation of an object in a vehicle.

To provide a system for accurately detecting the presence of an occupied rear-facing child seat in order to prevent an occupant protection apparatus, such as an airbag, from deploying, when the airbag would impact against the rear-facing child seat if deployed.

To provide a system for accurately detecting the presence of an out-of-position occupant in order to prevent one or more deployable occupant protection apparatus such as airbags from deploying when the airbag(s) would impact against the head or chest of the occupant during its initial deployment phase causing injury or possible death to the occupant.

To provide an interior monitoring system that utilizes reflection, scattering, absorption or transmission of waves including capacitive or other field based sensors.

To determine the presence of a child in a child seat based on motion of the child.

To recognize the presence of a human on a particular seat of a motor vehicle and then to determine his or her velocity relative to the passenger compartment and to use this velocity information to affect the operation of another vehicle system.

To determine the presence of a life form anywhere in a vehicle based on motion of the life form.

To provide an occupant sensing system which detects the presence of a life form in a vehicle and under certain conditions, activates a vehicular warning system or a vehicular system to prevent injury to the life form.

To recognize the presence of a human on a particular seat of a motor vehicle and then to determine his or her position and to use this position information to affect the operation of another vehicle system.

To provide a reliable system for recognizing the presence of a rear-facing child seat on a particular seat of a motor vehicle.

To provide a reliable system for recognizing the presence of a human being on a particular seat of a motor vehicle.

To provide a reliable system for determining the position, velocity or size of an occupant in a motor vehicle.

To provide a reliable system for determining in a timely manner that an occupant is out-of-position, or will become out-of-position, and likely to be injured by a deploying airbag.

To provide an occupant vehicle interior monitoring system which has high resolution to improve system accuracy and permits the location of body parts of the occupant to be determined.

To provide a new and improved steering wheel or steering wheel assembly including a position and/or velocity sensor for use in determining the position of the occupant relative to the steering wheel or steering wheel assembly.

To provide a new and improved airbag module for mounting in a vehicle and which includes a position and/or velocity sensor for use in determining the position of the occupant to enable the airbag to be operationally controlled depending on the position of the occupant.

To provide new and improved methods and apparatus for controlling deployment of an airbag in which the distance between the occupant to be protected by the airbag and the steering wheel, in the case of the driver, or instrument panel, in the case of the front-seated passenger, are determined by a position and/or velocity sensor mounted on or in connection with the airbag module.

To provide a warning to a driver if he/she is falling asleep.

To sense that a driver is inebriated or otherwise suffering from a reduced capacity to operate a motor vehicle and to take appropriate action.

To provide a simplified system for determining the approximate location and velocity of a vehicle occupant and to use this system to control the deployment of a passive restraint. This occupant position and velocity determining system can be based on the position of the vehicle seat, the position of the seat back, the state of the seatbelt buckle switch, a seatbelt payout sensor or a combination thereof.

To provide new and improved adjustment apparatus and methods that evaluate the occupancy of the seat without the problems mentioned above.

To provide a method for accurately detecting the presence of an out-of-position occupant, and particularly one who becomes out-of-position during a high speed crash, in order to prevent one or more airbags from deploying, which airbag(s) would impact against the head or chest of the occupant during its initial deployment phase causing injury or possible death to the occupant.

1.1 Ultrasonics

Some objects mainly related to ultrasonic sensors are:

To provide adjustment apparatus and methods that evaluate the occupancy of the seat by a combination of ultrasonic sensors and additional sensors and adjust the location and/or orientation relative to the occupant and/or operation of a part of the component or the component in its entirety based on the evaluated occupancy of the seat.

To provide an occupant vehicle interior monitoring system this is not affected by temperature or thermal gradients. At least one of the inventions disclosed herein provides improvements to a system to sense the presence, position and/or type of an occupant in a passenger compartment of a motor vehicle in the presence of thermal gradients and more particularly, to identify and monitor occupants and their parts and other objects in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, such as an automobile or truck, by processing one or more signals received from the occupants and their parts and other objects using one or more of a variety of pattern recognition techniques and ultrasonic illumination technologies. The received signals are generally reflections of a transmitted signal. Information obtained by the identification and monitoring system is then used to affect the operation of some other system in the vehicle.

To enable the presence, position and type of occupying item in a passenger compartment to be detected even in the presence of thermal gradients.

To provide a method for reducing the effects of thermal gradients that occur when the sun beats down on a closed vehicle or from the operation of the heater or air conditioner, such gradients causing the ultrasonic or electromagnetic waves to be diffracted and thereby changing the received wave pattern.

To provide a reliable method using a single transducer for both sending and receiving ultrasonic or electromagnetic waves while permitting objects to be detected that are less than 4 inches from the transducer.

To provide a reliable method for dynamically determining the location of a vehicle occupant who is moving toward the airbag module due to vehicle decelerations caused by, for example, pre-crash braking and to use this information to control another vehicle system such as the airbag system.

To provide a reliable method for compensating for the effects of the change in the speed of sound due to temperature changes within the vehicle, such method based on the variation of a measurable property of the transducer such as its capacitance, inductance or natural frequency with temperature.

To provide a reliable method for determining in a timely manner, such as every 10-20 milliseconds, that an occupant is out of position, or will become out of position, and likely to be injured by a deploying airbag and to then output a signal to suppress the deployment of the airbag and to do so in sufficient time that the airbag deployment can be suppressed even in the case of a poorly designed or malfunctioning crash sensor which triggers late on a short duration crash.

To provide a method of controlling the wave pattern emitted from the transducer assembly so as to more precisely illuminate the area of interest.

To provide apparatus which permits speed of sound compensation to be achieved even when each transducer in the system operates at a different tuned frequency.

To provide apparatus which detect objects that are very close to the transducer assembly.

1.2 Optics

It is an object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide for the use of naturally occurring and artificial electromagnetic radiation in the visual, IR and ultraviolet portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Such systems can employ, among others, cameras, CCD and CMOS arrays, Quantum Well Infrared Photodetector arrays, focal plane arrays and other imaging and radiation detecting devices and systems.

1.3 Ultrasonics and Optics

It is an object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to employ a combination of optical systems and ultrasonic systems to exploit the advantages of each system.

1.4 Other Transducers

It is an object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to also employ other transducers such as seat position, temperature, acceleration, pressure and other sensors and antennas.

2. Adaptation

It is an object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide for the adaptation of a system comprising a variety of transducers such as seatbelt payout sensors, seatbelt buckle sensors, seat position sensors, seatback position sensors, and weight sensors and which is adapted so as to constitute a highly reliable occupant presence and position system when used in combination with electromagnetic, ultrasonic or other radiation or field sensors.

3. Mounting Locations for and Quantity of Transducers

It is an object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide for one or a variety of transducer mounting locations in and on the vehicle including the headliner, A-Pillar, B-Pillar, C-Pillar, instrument panel, rear view mirror assembly, windshield, doors, windows and other appropriate locations for the particular application.

3.1 Single Camera, Dual Camera with Single Light Source

It is an object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide a single camera system that satisfies the requirements of FMVSS-208.

3.2 Location of the transducers

It is an object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide for a driver monitoring system using an imaging transducer mounted on the rear view mirror assembly.

It is an object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide a system in which transducers are located within the passenger compartment at specific locations such that a high reliability of classification of objects and their position is obtained from the signals generated by the transducers.

3.3 Color Cameras—Multispectral Imaging

It is an object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to, where appropriate, use all frequencies or selected frequencies of the Radar, terahertz, infrared, visual, ultraviolet and X-ray portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

3.4 High Dynamic Range Cameras

It is an object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide an imaging system that has sufficient dynamic range for the application. This may include the use of a high dynamic range camera (such as 120 db) or the use a lower dynamic range (such as 70 db or less) along with a method of adjusting the exposure either through use of an iris, a spatial light monitor or shutter control.

3.5 Fisheye Lens, Pan and Zoom

It is an object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein, where appropriate, to provide for the use of a fisheye or similar very wide angle or otherwise distorting lens and to thereby achieve wide coverage and, in some cases, a pan and zoom capability.

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide for a low-cost single element lens that can mount directly on the imaging chip.

4. 3D Cameras

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide an interior monitoring system which provides three-dimensional information about an occupying item from a single transducer mounting location.

4.1 Stereo Vision

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein for some applications, where appropriate, to achieve a three-dimensional representation of objects in the passenger compartment through the use of at least two cameras. When two cameras are used, they may or may not be located near each other.

4.2 Distance by Focusing

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide a method of measuring the distance from a sensor to an occupant or part thereof using calculations based of the degree of focus of an image.

4.3 Ranging

Further objects of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein are:

To provide a vehicle monitoring system using modulated radiation to aid in the determining of the distance from a transducer (either ultrasonic or electromagnetic) to an occupying item of a vehicle.

To provide a system of frequency domain modulation of the illumination of an object interior and/or exterior of a vehicle.

To utilize code modulation such as with a pseudo random code to permit the unambiguous monitoring of the vehicle exterior in the presence of other vehicles with the same system.

To use a chirp frequency modulation technique to aid in determining the distance to an object interior and/or exterior of a vehicle.

To use a beat frequency technique to aid in determining the distance to an object interior and/or exterior of a vehicle.

To utilize a correlation pattern modulation in a form of code division modulation for determining the distance of an object interior and/or exterior of a vehicle.

4.4 Pockel or Kerr Cell for Determining Range

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to utilize a Pockel cell, Kerr cell or other spatial light monitor or equivalent to aid in determining the distance to an object in the interior or exterior of a vehicle.

4.5 Thin Film on ASIC (TFA)

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to incorporate TFA technology in such a manner as to provide a three-dimensional image of the interior and/or exterior of a vehicle.

5. Glare Control

Further objects of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein are:

To determine the location of the eyes of a vehicle occupant and the direction of a light source such as the headlights of an oncoming vehicle or the sun and to cause a filter to be placed in a position to reduce the intensity of the light striking the eyes of the occupant.

To determine the location of the eyes of a vehicle occupant and the direction of a light source such as the headlights of a rear approaching vehicle or the sun and to cause a filter to be placed in a position to reduce the intensity of the light reflected from the rear view mirrors and striking the eyes of the occupant.

To provide a glare filter for a glare reduction system that uses semiconducting or metallic (organic) polymers to provide a low cost system, which may reside in the windshield, visor, mirror or special device.

To provide a glare filter based on electronic Venetian blinds, polarizers or spatial light monitors.

5.1 Windshield

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to determine the location of the eyes of a vehicle occupant and the direction of a light source such as the headlights of an oncoming vehicle or the sun and to cause a filter to be placed in a position to reduce the intensity of the light striking the eyes of the occupant.

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide a windshield where a substantial part of the area is covered by a plastic electronics film for a display and/or glare control.

5.2 Glare in Rear View Mirrors

It is an additional object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to determine the location of the eyes of a vehicle occupant and the direction of a light source such as the headlights of a rear approaching vehicle or the sun and to cause a filter to be placed in a rear view mirror to reduce the intensity of the light striking the eyes of the occupant.

5.3 Visor for Glare Control and HUD

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide an occupant vehicle interior monitoring system which reduces the glare from sunlight and headlights by imposing a filter between the eyes of an occupant and the light source wherein the filter is placed in a visor.

6. Weight Measurement and Biometrics

Further objects of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein are:

To provide a system and method wherein the weight of an occupant is determined utilizing sensors located on the seat structure.

To provide apparatus and methods for measuring the weight of an occupying item on a vehicle seat which may be integrated into vehicular component adjustment apparatus and methods which evaluate the occupancy of the seat and adjust the location and/or orientation relative to the occupant and/or operation of a part of the component or the component in its entirety based on the evaluated occupancy of the seat.

To provide vehicular seats including a weight measuring feature and weight measuring methods for implementation in connection with vehicular seats.

To provide vehicular seats in which the weight applied by an occupying item to the seat is measured based on capacitance between conductive and/or metallic members underlying the seat cushion.

To provide adjustment apparatus and methods that evaluate the occupancy of the seat and adjust the location and/or orientation relative to the occupant and/or operation of a part of the component or the component in its entirety based on the evaluated occupancy of the seat and on a measurement of the occupant's weight or a measurement of a force or pressure exerted by the occupant on the seat.

To provide seat pressure or weight measurement systems in order to improve the accuracy of another apparatus or system that utilizes measured seat pressure or weight as input, e.g., a component adjustment apparatus.

To provide a system where the morphological characteristics of an occupant are measured by sensors located within the seat.

To provide a system for recognizing the identity of a particular individual in the vehicle.

To provide an improved seat pressure or weight measurement system and thereby improve the accuracy of another apparatus or system which utilizes measured seat pressure or weight as input, e.g., a component adjustment apparatus.

To provide a system for passively and automatically adjusting the position of a vehicle component to an optimum or near optimum location based on the size of an occupant.

To provide a system for recognizing a particular occupant of a vehicle and thereafter adjusting various components of the vehicle in accordance with the preferences of the recognized occupant.

To provide a pattern recognition system to permit more accurate location of an occupant's head and the parts thereof and to use this information to adjust a vehicle component.

To provide a method of determining whether a seat is occupied and, if not, leaving the seat at a neutral position.

6.1 Strain Gage Weight Sensors

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide a seat pressure or weight measuring system based on the use of one or more strain gages.

6.2 Bladder Weight Sensors

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide a seat pressure or weight measuring system based on the use of one or more fluid-filled bladders.

6.3 Dynamic Weight Measurement

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein:

To provide an occupant weight measuring system that utilizes the dynamic motion of the vehicle to determine the seat pressure applied by or weight of occupying items that is independent of seatbelt forces or residual stresses or other hysteretic effects in the seat pressure or weight measuring system.

To obtain a measurement of the weight of an occupying item in a seat of a vehicle while compensating for effects caused by a seatbelt, road roughness, steering maneuvers and a vehicle suspension system.

To classify an occupying item in a seat based on dynamic forces measured by a seat pressure or weight sensor associated with the seat, with an optional compensation for effects caused by the seatbelt, road roughness, etc.

To determine whether an occupying item is belted based on dynamic forces measured by a seat pressure or weight sensor associated with the seat, with an optional compensation for effects caused by the seatbelt, road roughness, etc.

To determine whether an occupying item in the seat is alive or inanimate based on dynamic forces measured by a seat pressure or weight sensor associated with the seat, with an optional compensation for effects caused by the seatbelt, road roughness, etc.

To determine the location of the occupying item on a seat based on dynamic forces measured by a seat pressure or weight sensor associated with the seat, with an optional compensation for effects caused by the seatbelt, road roughness, etc.

6.4 Combined Spatial and Weight

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein:

To provide an occupant sensing system that comprises both a seat pressure or weight measuring system and a special sensing system. To provide new and improved adjustment apparatus and methods that evaluate the occupancy of the seat by a combination of ultrasonic sensors and additional sensors and adjust the location and/or orientation relative to the occupant and/or operation of a part of the component or the component in its entirety based on the evaluated occupancy of the seat.

To provide new and improved adjustment apparatus and methods that reliably discriminate between a normally seated passenger and a forward facing child seat, between an abnormally seated passenger and a rear facing child seat, and whether or not the seat is empty and adjust the location and/or orientation relative to the occupant and/or operation of a part of the component or the component in its entirety based thereon.

6.5 Face Recognition (Face and Iris IR Scans)

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to recognize a particular driver based on such factors as facial characteristics, physical appearance or other attributes and to use this information to control another vehicle system such as the vehicle ignition, a security system, seat adjustment, or maximum permitted vehicle velocity, among others.

Further objects of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein are:

To determine the approximate location of the eyes of a driver and to use that information to control the position of the rear view mirrors of the vehicle and/or adjust the seat.

To control a vehicle component using eye tracking techniques.

To provide systems for approximately locating the eyes of a vehicle driver to thereby permit the placement of the driver's eyes at a particular location in the vehicle.

To provide systems for approximately locating the eyes of a vehicle driver to thereby permit the placement of the driver's eyes at a particular location in the vehicle.

6.6 Heartbeat and Health State

Further objects of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein are:

To provide a system using radar which detects a heartbeat of life forms in a vehicle.

To provide an occupant sensor which determines the presence and health state of any occupants in a vehicle. The presence of the occupants may be determined using an animal life or heartbeat sensor.

To provide an occupant sensor that determines whether any occupants of the vehicle are breathing by analyzing the occupant's motion. It can also be determined whether an occupant is breathing with difficulty.

To provide an occupant sensor which determines whether any occupants of the vehicle are breathing by analyzing the chemical composition of the air/gas in the vehicle, e.g., in proximity of the occupant's mouth.

To provide an occupant sensor that determines whether any occupants of the vehicle are conscious by analyzing movement of their eyes.

To provide an occupant sensor which determines whether any occupants of the vehicle are wounded to the extent that they are bleeding by analyzing air/gas in the vehicle, e.g., directly around each occupant.

To provide an occupant sensor which determines the presence and health state of any occupants in the vehicle by analyzing sounds emanating from the passenger compartment. Such sounds can be directed to a remote, manned site for consideration in dispatching response personnel.

6.7 Other Inputs

7. Illumination

7.1 Infrared Light

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein provide for infrared illumination in one or more of the near IR, SWIR, MWIR or LWIR regions of the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum for illuminating the environment inside or outside of a vehicle.

7.2 Structured Light

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to use structured light to help determine the distance to an object from a transducer.

7.3 Color and Natural Light

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide a system that uses colored light and natural light in monitoring the interior and/or exterior of a vehicle.

7.4 Radar

Further objects of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein are:

To provide an occupant sensor which determines whether any occupants of the vehicle are moving using radar systems, e.g., micropower impulse radar (MIR), which can also detect the heartbeats of any occupants.

To provide an occupant sensor which determines whether any occupants of the vehicle are moving using radar systems, such as micropower impulse radar (MIR), which can also detect the heartbeats of any occupants and, optionally, to send this information by telematics to one or more remote sites.

7.5 Frequency or Spectrum Considerations

8. Field Sensors and Antennas

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide a very low cost monitoring and presence detection system that uses the property that water in the near field of an antenna changes the antenna's loading or impedance matching or resonant properties.

9. Telematics

The occupancy determination can also be used in various methods and arrangements for, controlling heating and air-conditioning systems to optimize the comfort for any occupants, controlling an entertainment system as desired by the occupants, controlling a glare prevention device for the occupants, preventing accidents by a driver who is unable to safely drive the vehicle and enabling an effective and optimal response in the event of a crash (either oral directions to be communicated to the occupants or the dispatch of personnel to aid the occupants) as well as many others. Thus, one objective of the invention is to obtain information about occupancy of a vehicle before, during and/or after a crash and convey this information to remotely situated assistance personnel to optimize their response to a crash involving the vehicle and/or enable proper assistance to be rendered to the occupants after the crash.

It is an object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved method and system for obtaining information about occupancy of a vehicle and conveying this information to remotely situated assistance personnel after a crash involving the vehicle.

It is another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved method and system for obtaining information about occupancy of a vehicle and conveying this information to remotely situated assistance personnel to optimize their response to a crash involving the vehicle and/or enable proper assistance to be rendered to the occupant(s) after the crash.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved method and system for determining the presence of an object on a particular seat of a motor vehicle and conveying this information over a wireless data link system or cellular phone.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved method and system for determining the presence of an object on a particular seat of a motor vehicle and using this information to affect the operation of a wireless data link system or cellular phone.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved method and system for determining the presence of and total number of occupants of a vehicle and, in the event of an accident, transmitting that information, as well as other information such as the condition of the occupants, to a receiver site remote from the vehicle.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved occupant sensor which determines the presence and health state of any occupants in the vehicle by analyzing sounds emanating from the passenger compartment and directing directed such sounds to a remote, manned site for consideration in dispatching response personnel.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved vehicle monitoring system which provides a communications channel between the vehicle (possibly through microphones distributed throughout the vehicle) and a manned assistance facility to enable communications with the occupants after a crash or whenever the occupants are in need of assistance particularly when the communication is initiated from the remote facility in response to a condition that the operator may not know exists (e.g., if the occupants are lost, then data forming maps as a navigational aid would be transmitted to the vehicle).

Further objects of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein are:

To determine the total number of occupants of a vehicle and in the event of an accident to transmit that information, as well as other information such as the condition of the occupants, to a receiver remote from the vehicle.

To determine the total number of occupants of a vehicle and in the event of an accident to transmit that information, as well as other information such as the condition of the occupants before, during and/or after a crash, to a receiver remote from the vehicle, such information may include images.

To provide an occupant sensor which determines the presence and health state of any occupants in a vehicle and, optionally, to send this information by telematics to one or more remote sites. The presence of the occupants may be determined using an animal life or heartbeat sensors.

To provide an occupant sensor which determines whether any occupants of the vehicle are breathing or breathing with difficulty by analyzing the occupant's motion and, optionally, to send this information by telematics to one or more remote sites.

To provide an occupant sensor which determines whether any occupants of the vehicle are breathing by analyzing the chemical composition of in the vehicle and, optionally, to send this information by telematics to one or more remote sites.

To provide an occupant sensor which determines whether any occupants of the vehicle are conscious by analyzing movement of their eyes, eyelids or other parts and, optionally, to send this information by telematics to one or more remote sites.

To provide an occupant sensor which determines whether any occupants of the vehicle are wounded to the extent that they are bleeding by analyzing the gas/air in the vehicle and, optionally, to send this information by telematics to one or more remote sites.

To provide an occupant sensor which determines the presence and health state of any occupants in the vehicle by analyzing sounds emanating from the passenger compartment and, optionally, to send this information by telematics to one or more remote sites. Such sounds can be directed to a remote, manned site for consideration in dispatching response personnel.

10. Display

10.1 Heads-Up Display

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide a heads-up display that positions the display on the windshield based of the location of the eyes of the driver so as to place objects at the appropriate location in the field of view.

10.2 Adjust HUD Based on Driver Seating Position

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide a heads-up display that positions the display on the windshield based of the seating position of the driver so as to place objects at the appropriate location in the field of view.

10.3 HUD on Rear Window

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide a heads-up display that positions the display on a rear window.

10.4 Plastic Electronics

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide a heads-up display that uses plastic electronics rather than a projection system.

11. Pattern Recognition

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to use pattern recognition techniques for determining the identity or location of an occupant or object in a vehicle.

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to use pattern recognition techniques for analyzing three-dimensional image data of occupants of a vehicle and objects exterior to the vehicle.

11.1 Neural Networks

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to use pattern recognition techniques comprising neural networks.

11.2 Combination Neural Networks

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to use combination neural networks.

Further objects of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein are:

To monitor the position of the head of the vehicle driver and determine whether the driver is falling asleep or otherwise impaired and likely to lose control of the vehicle and to use that information to affect another vehicle system.

To monitor the position of the eyes and/or eyelids of the vehicle driver and determine whether the driver is falling asleep or otherwise impaired and likely to lose control of the vehicle, or is unconscious after an accident, and to use that information to affect another vehicle system.

To monitor the position of the head and/or other parts of the vehicle driver and determine whether the driver is falling asleep or otherwise impaired and likely to lose control of the vehicle and to use that information to affect another vehicle system.

11.4 Combining Occupant Monitoring and Car Monitoring

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to use a combination of occupant monitoring and vehicle monitoring to aid in determining if the driver is about to lose control of the vehicle.

11.5 Continuous Tracking

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide an occupant position determination in a sufficiently short time that the position of an occupant can be tracked during a vehicle crash.

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein that the pattern recognition system is trained on the position of the occupant relative to the airbag rather than what zone the occupant occupies.

11.6 Preprocessing

Further objects of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein are:

To determine the presence of a child in a child seat based on motion of the child.

To determine the presence of a life form anywhere in a vehicle based on motion of the life form.

To provide a system using electromagnetics or ultrasonics to detect motion of objects in a vehicle and enable the use of the detection of the motion for control of vehicular components and systems.

11.7 Post-Processing

It is another object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to apply a filter to the output of the pattern recognition system that is based on previous decisions as a test of reasonableness.

13. Diagnostics and Prognostics

Principal objects and advantages of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein or other inventions disclosed herein are thus:

1. To prevent vehicle breakdowns.

2. To alert the driver of the vehicle that a component of the vehicle is functioning differently than normal and might be in danger of failing.

3. To alert the dealer, or repair facility, that a component of the vehicle is functioning differently than normal and is in danger of failing.

4. To provide an early warning of a potential component failure and to thereby minimize the cost of repairing or replacing the component.

5. To provide a device which will capture available information from signals emanating from vehicle components for a variety of uses such as current and future vehicle diagnostic purposes.

6. To provide a device that uses information from existing sensors for new purposes thereby increasing the value of existing sensors and, in some cases, eliminating the need for sensors that provide redundant information.

7. To provide a device which is trained to recognize deterioration in the performance of a vehicle component, or of the entire vehicle, based on information in signals emanating from the component or from vehicle angular and linear accelerations.

8. To provide a device which analyzes vibrations from various vehicle components that are transmitted through the vehicle structure and sensed by existing vibration sensors such as vehicular crash sensors used with airbag systems or by special vibration sensors, accelerometers, or gyroscopes.

9. To provide a device which provides information to the vehicle manufacturer of the events leading to a component failure.

11. To apply component diagnostic techniques in combination with intelligent or smart highways wherein vehicles may be automatically guided without manual control in order to permit the orderly exiting of the vehicle from a restricted roadway prior to a breakdown of the vehicle.

12. To apply trained pattern recognition techniques using multiple sensors to provide an early prediction of the existence and severity of an accident.

13. To utilize pattern recognition techniques and the output from multiple sensors to determine at an early stage that a vehicle rollover might occur and to take corrective action through control of the vehicle acceleration, brakes and/or steering to prevent the rollover or if it is not preventable, to deploy side head protection airbags to attempt to reduce injuries.

14. To use the output from multiple sensors to determine that the vehicle is skidding or sliding and to send messages to the various vehicle control systems to activate the throttle, brakes and/or steering to correct for the vehicle sliding or skidding motion.

15. To provide a new and improved method and system for diagnosing components in a vehicle and the operating status of the vehicle and alerting the vehicle's dealer, or another repair facility, via a telematics link that a component of the vehicle is functioning abnormally and may be in danger of failing.

16. To provide a new and improved method and apparatus for obtaining information about a vehicle system and components in the vehicle in conjunction with failure of the component or the vehicle and sending this information to the vehicle manufacturer.

17. To provide a new and improved method and system for diagnosing components in a vehicle by monitoring the patterns of signals emitted from the vehicle components and, through the use of pattern recognition technology, forecasting component failures before they occur. Vehicle component behavior is thus monitored over time in contrast to systems that wait until a serious condition occurs. The forecast of component failure can be transmitted to a remote location via a telematics link.

18. To provide a new and improved on-board vehicle diagnostic module utilizing pattern recognition technologies which are trained to differentiate normal from abnormal component behavior. The diagnosis of component behavior can be transmitted to a remote location via a telematics link.

19. To provide a diagnostic module that determines whether a component is operating normally or abnormally based on a time series of data from a single sensor or from multiple sensors that contain a pattern indicative of the operating status of the component. The diagnosis of component operation can be transmitted to a remote location via a telematics link.

20. To provide a diagnostic module that determines whether a component is operating normally or abnormally based on data from one or more sensors that are not directly associated with the component, i.e., do not depend on the operation of the component. The diagnosis of component operation can be transmitted to a remote location via a telematics link.

21. To simultaneously monitor several sensors, primarily accelerometers, gyroscopes and strain gages, to determine the state of the vehicle and optionally its occupants and to determine that a vehicle is out of control and possibly headed for an accident, for example. If so, then a signal can be sent to a part of the vehicle control system to attempt to re-establish stability. If this is unsuccessful, then the same system of sensors can monitor the early stages of a crash to make an assessment of the severity of the crash and what occupant protection systems should be deployed and how such occupant protection systems should be deployed.

22. To provide new and improved sensors for a vehicle which wirelessly transmits information about a state measured or detected by the sensor.

23. To incorporate surface acoustic wave technology into sensors on a vehicle with the data obtained by the sensors being transmittable via a telematics link to a remote location.

24. To provide new and improved sensors for measuring the pressure, temperature and/or acceleration of tires with the data obtained by the sensors being transmittable via a telematics link to a remote location.

26. To provide new and improved sensors for detecting the presence of fluids or gases which utilize wireless data transmission, wireless power transmission, and/or surface acoustic wave technology with the data obtained by the sensors being transmittable via a telematics link to a remote location.

27. To provide new and improved sensors for detecting the condition or friction of a road surface which utilize wireless data transmission, wireless power transmission, and/or surface acoustic wave technology with the data obtained by the sensors being transmittable via a telematics link to a remote location.

28. To provide new and improved sensors for detecting chemicals which utilize wireless data transmission, wireless power transmission, and/or surface acoustic wave technology with the data obtained by the sensors being transmittable via a telematics link to a remote location.

29. To utilize any of the foregoing sensors for a vehicular component control system in which a component, system or subsystem in the vehicle is controlled based on the information provided by the sensor. Additionally, the information provided by the sensor can be transmitted via a telematics link to one or more remote facilities for further analysis.

30. To provide new and improved sensors which obtain and provide information about the vehicle, about individual components, systems, vehicle occupants, subsystems, or about the roadway, ambient atmosphere, travel conditions and external objects with the data obtained by the sensors being transmittable via a telematics link to a remote location

14. Other Products, Outputs, Features

It is an object of the present invention to provide new and improved arrangements and methods for adjusting or controlling a component in a vehicle. Control of a component does not require an adjustment of the component if the operation of the component is appropriate for the situation.

It is another object of the present invention to provide new and improved methods and apparatus for adjusting a component in a vehicle based on occupancy of the vehicle. For example, an airbag system may be controlled based on the location of a seat and the occupant of the seat to be protected by the deployment of the airbag.

Further objects of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein related to additional capabilities are:

To recognize the presence of an object on a particular seat of a motor vehicle and to use this information to affect the operation of another vehicle system such as the entertainment system, airbag system, heating and air conditioning system, pedal adjustment system, mirror adjustment system, wireless data link system and cellular phone, among others.

To recognize the presence of an occupant on a particular seat of a motor vehicle and then to determine his/her position and to use this position information to affect the operation of another vehicle system.

To determine the approximate location of the eyes of a driver and to use that information to control the position of the rear view mirrors of the vehicle.

To recognize a particular driver based on such factors as physical appearance or other attributes and to use this information to control another vehicle system such as a security system, seat adjustment, or maximum permitted vehicle velocity, among others.

To recognize the presence of a human on a particular seat of a motor vehicle and then to determine his/her velocity relative to the passenger compartment and to use this velocity information to affect the operation of another vehicle system.

To provide a system using electric fields, electromagnetics or ultrasonics to detect motion of objects in a vehicle and enable the use of the detection of the motion for control of vehicular components and systems.

To provide a system for passively and automatically adjusting the position of a vehicle component to a near optimum location based on the size of an occupant.

To provide adjustment apparatus and methods that reliably discriminate between a normally seated passenger and a forward facing child seat, between an abnormnally seated passenger. and a rear facing child seat, and whether or not the seat is empty and adjust the location and/or orientation relative to the occupant and/or operation of a part of the component or the component in its entirety based thereon.

To provide a system for recognizing a particular occupant of a vehicle and thereafter adjusting various components of the vehicle in accordance with the preferences of the recognized occupant.

To provide a pattern recognition system to permit more accurate location of an occupant's head and the parts thereof and to use this information to adjust a vehicle component.

To provide a system for automatically adjusting the position of various components of the vehicle to permit safer and more effective operation of the vehicle including the location of the pedals and steering wheel.

To provide new and improved apparatus and methods for automatically adjusting a steering wheel based on the morphology of the driver, e.g., to place the steering wheel in an optimum position for driving the vehicle.

To provide a new and improved method and apparatus for adjusting a steering wheel in which the occupancy of the driver's seat is evaluated and the steering wheel adjusted automatically relative to the driver based on the evaluated occupancy of the driver's seat.

To recognize the presence of a human on a particular seat of a motor vehicle and then to determine his or her position and to use this position information to affect the operation of another vehicle system.

14.1 Control of Passive Restraints

It is another object of the present invention to provide new and improved arrangements and methods for controlling an occupant protection device based on the morphology of an occupant to be protected by the actuation of the device and optionally, the location of a seat on which the occupant is sitting. Control of the occupant protection device can entail suppression of actuation of the device, or adjustment of the actuation parameters of the device if such adjustment is deemed necessary.

Further objects of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein related to control of passive restraints are:

To determine the position, velocity and/or size of an occupant in a motor vehicle and to utilize this information to control the rate of gas generation, or the amount of gas generated, by an airbag inflator system or otherwise control the flow of gas into and/or out of an airbag.

To determine the fact that an occupant is not restrained by a seatbelt and therefore to modify the characteristics of the airbag system. This determination can be done either by monitoring the position or motion of the occupant or through the use of a resonating device placed on the shoulder belt portion of the seatbelt.

To determine the presence and/or position of rear seated occupants in the vehicle and to use this information to affect the operation of a rear seat protection airbag for frontal, rear or side impacts, or rollovers.

To recognize the presence of a rear facing child seat on a particular seat of a motor vehicle and to use this information to affect the operation of another vehicle system such as the airbag system.

To provide a vehicle interior monitoring system for determining the location of occupants within the vehicle and to include within the same system various electronics for controlling an airbag system.

To provide an occupant sensing system which detects the presence of a life form in a vehicle and under certain conditions, activates a vehicular warning system or a vehicular system to prevent injury to the life form.

To determine whether an occupant is out-of-position relative to the airbag and if so, to suppress deployment of the airbag in a situation in which the airbag would otherwise be deployed.

To adjust the flow of gas into and/or out of the airbag based on the morphology and/or position of the occupant to improve the performance of the airbag in reducing occupant injury.

To provide an occupant position sensor which reliably permits, and in a timely manner, a determination to be made that the occupant is out-of-position, or will become out-of-position, and likely to be injured by a deploying airbag and to then output a signal to suppress the deployment of the airbag.

Further objects of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein related to control of a seat and related adjustments are:

To determine the position of a seat in the vehicle using sensors remote from the seat and to use that information in conjunction with a memory system and appropriate actuators to position the seat in a predetermined location.

To remotely determine the fact that a vehicle door is not tightly closed using an illumination transmitting and receiving system such as one employing electromagnetic or acoustic waves.

To determine the position of the shoulder of a vehicle occupant and to use that information to control the seatbelt anchorage point.

To obtain information about an object in a vehicle using resonators or reflectors arranged in association with the object, such as the position of the object and the orientation of the object.

To provide a system designed to determine the orientation of a child seat using resonators or reflectors arranged in connection with the child seat.

To provide a system designed to determine whether a seatbelt is in use using resonators and reflectors, for possible use in the control of a safety device such as an airbag.

To provide a system designed to determine the position of an occupying item of a vehicle using resonators or reflectors, for possible use in the control of a safety device such as an airbag.

To provide a system designed to determine the position of a seat using resonators or reflectors, for possible use in the control of a vehicular component or system which would be affected by different seat positions.

To obtain information about an object in a vehicle using resonators or reflectors arranged in association with the object, such as the position of the object and the orientation of the object.

To provide a system for automatically adjusting the position of various components of the vehicle to permit safer and more effective operation of the vehicle including the location of the pedals and steering wheel.

To provide a system where the morphological characteristics of an occupant are measured by sensors located within the seat.

To provide a system and method wherein the weight of an occupant is determined utilizing sensors located on the seat structure.

To provide a system and method wherein other morphological properties are used to identify an individual including facial features, iris patterns, voiceprints, fingerprints and handprints.

To provide new and improved vehicular seats including a seat pressure or weight measuring feature and seat pressure or weight measuring methods for implementation in connection with vehicular seats.

14.3 Side Impacts

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to determine the presence and/or position of occupants relative to the side impact airbag systems and to use this information to affect the operation of a side impact protection airbag system.

14.4 Children and Animals Left Alone

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to detect whether children or animals are left alone in a vehicle or vehicle trunk and the environment is placing such children or animals in danger.

14.5 Vehicle Theft

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to prevent vehicle theft by warning the owner that the vehicle is being stolen.

14.6 Security, Intruder Protection

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide a security system for a vehicle which determines the presence of an unexpected life form in a vehicle and conveys the determination prior to entry of a driver into the vehicle.

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to recognize a particular driver based on such factors as physical appearance or other attributes and to use this information to control another vehicle system such as a security system, seat adjustment, or maximum permitted vehicle velocity, among others.

14.7 Entertainment System Control

Further objects of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein related to control of the entertainment system are:

To affect the vehicle entertainment system, e.g., the speakers, based on a determination of the number, size and/or location of various occupants or other objects within the vehicle passenger compartment.

To determine the location of the ears of one or more vehicle occupants and to use that information to control the entertainment system, e.g., the speakers, so as to improve the quality of the sound reaching the occupants' ears through such methods as noise canceling sound.

14.8 HVAC

Further objects of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein related to control of the HVAC system are:

To affect the vehicle heating, ventilation and air conditioning system based on a determination of the number, size and location of various occupants or other objects within the vehicle passenger compartment.

To determine the temperature of an occupant based on infrared radiation coming from that occupant and to use that information to control the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.

To recognize the presence of a human on a particular seat of a motor vehicle and to use this information to affect the operation of another vehicle system such as the airbag, heating and air conditioning, or entertainment systems, among others.

14.9 Obstruction Sensing

Further objects of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein related to sensing of window and door obstructions are:

To determine the extent of openness of a vehicle window and to use that information to affect another vehicle system.

To determine the presence of an occupant's hand or other object in the path of a closing window and to affect the window closing system.

To determine the presence of an occupant's hand or other object in the path of a closing door and to affect the door closing system.

To provide a new and improved system for monitoring closure of apertures.

To provide a new and improved system for monitoring closure of apertures in vehicles such as windows, doors, sunroofs, convertible tops and trunks.

To provide a new and improved system for monitoring closure of apertures such as windows, doors, sunroofs, convertible tops and trunks in vehicles and to suppress closure of the same if an obstacle is detected.

To provide a new and improved aperture monitoring system that does not depend on the reflectivity of the edges of the aperture and does not require the application of special materials to such edges.

To provide a new and improved aperture monitoring system that does not require the use of a calibration system such as a calibration LED.

14.10 Rear Impacts

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to determine the position of the rear of an occupant's head and to use that information to control the position of the headrest.

It is an object of the present invention to provide new and improved headrests for seats in a vehicle which offer protection for an occupant in the event of a crash involving the vehicle.

It is another object of the present invention to provide new and improved seats for vehicles which offer protection for an occupant in the event of a crash involving the vehicle.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide new and improved cushioning arrangements for vehicles and protection systems including cushioning arrangements which provide protection for occupants in the event of a crash involving the vehicle.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide new and improved cushioning arrangements for vehicles and protection systems including cushioning arrangements which provide protection for occupants in the event of a collision into the rear of the vehicle, i.e., a rear impact.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide new and improved vehicular systems which reduce whiplash injuries from rear impacts of a vehicle by causing the headrest to be automatically positioned proximate to the occupant's head.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide new and improved vehicular systems to position a headrest proximate to the head of a vehicle occupant prior to a pending impact into the rear of a vehicle.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a simple anticipatory sensor system for use with an adjustable headrest, or other safety system, to predict a rear impact.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method and arrangement for protecting an occupant in a vehicle during a crash involving the vehicle using an anticipatory sensor system and a cushioning arrangement including a fluid-containing bag which is brought closer toward the occupant or ideally in contact with the occupant prior to or coincident with the crash. The bag would then conform to the portion of the occupant with which it is in contact.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an automatically adjusting system which conforms to the head and neck geometry of an occupant regardless of the occupant's particular morphology to properly support both the head and neck.

14.11 Combined with SDM and Other Systems

It is a further object of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to provide for the combining of the electronics of the occupant sensor and the airbag control module into a single package.

14.12 Exterior Monitoring

Further objects of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein related to monitoring the exterior environment of the vehicle are:

To provide a system for monitoring the environment exterior of a vehicle in order to determine the presence and classification, identification and/or location of objects in the exterior environment.

To provide an anticipatory sensor that permits accurate identification of the about-to-impact object in the presence of snow and/or fog whereby the sensor is located within the vehicle.

To provide a smart headlight dimmer system which senses the headlights from an oncoming vehicle or the tail lights of a vehicle in front of the subject vehicle and identifies these lights differentiating them from reflections from signs or the road surface and then sends a signal to dim the headlights.

To provide a blind spot detector which detects and categorizes an object in the driver's blind spot or other location in the vicinity of the vehicle, and warns the driver in the event the driver begins to change lanes, for example, or continuously informs the driver of the state of occupancy of the blind spot.

To use the principles of time of flight to measure the distance to an occupant or object exterior to the vehicle.

To provide a camera system for interior and exterior monitoring, which can adjust on a pixel by pixel basis for the intensity of the received light.

To provide for the use of an active pixel camera for interior and exterior vehicle monitoring.

14.13 Monitoring of Other Vehicles Such as Cargo Containers, Truck Trailers and Railroad Cars

It is an object of some embodiments of the present invention to provide new and improved systems for remotely monitoring transportation assets and other movable and/or stationary items which have very low power requirements.

It is another object of some embodiments of the present invention to provide new and improved systems for attachment to shipping containers and other transportation assets which enable remote monitoring of the location, contents and/or interior or exterior environment of shipping containers or other assets and transportation assets and since it has a low power requirement, lasts for years without needing maintenance.

It is yet another object of some embodiments of the invention to provide new and improved tracking methods and systems for tracking shipping containers and other transportation assets and enabling recording of the travels of the shipping container or transportation asset.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

15.1 Classification, Location and Identification

The occupant position sensor of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein is adapted for installation in the passenger compartment of an automotive vehicle equipped with a passenger passive protective device (also referred to herein as an occupant restraint device) such as an inflatable airbag. When the vehicle is subjected to a crash of sufficient magnitude as to require deployment of the passive protective device (airbag), and the crash sensor system has determined that the device is to be deployed, the occupant position sensor and associated electronic circuitry determines the position of the vehicle occupant relative to the airbag and the velocity of the occupant, and disables deployment of the airbag if the occupant is positioned and/or will be positioned so that he/she is likely to be injured by the deploying airbag.

In order to achieve some of the above objects, an optical classification method for classifying an occupant in a vehicle in accordance with the invention comprises the steps of acquiring images of the occupant from a single camera and analyzing the images acquired from the single camera to determine a classification of the occupant. The single camera may be a digital CMOS camera, a high-power near-infrared LED, and the LED control circuit. It is possible to detect brightness of the images and control illumination of an LED in conjunction with the acquisition of images by the single camera. The illumination of the LED may be periodic to enable a comparison of resulting images with the LED on and the LED off so as to determine whether a daytime condition or a nighttime condition is present. The position of the occupant can be monitored when the occupant is classified as a child, an adult or a forward-facing child restraint.

In one embodiment, analysis of the images entails pre-processing the images, compressing the data from the pre-processed images, determining from the compressed data or the acquired images a particular condition of the occupant and/or condition of the environment in which the images have been acquired, providing a plurality of trained neural networks, each designed to determine the classification of the occupant for a respective one of the conditions, inputting the compressed data into one of the neural networks designed to determine the classification of the occupant for the determined condition to thereby obtain a classification of the occupant and subjecting the obtained classification of the occupant to post-processing to improve the probability of the classification of the occupant corresponding to the actual occupant. The pre-processing step may involve removing random noise and enhancing contrast whereby the presence of unwanted objects other than the occupant are reduced. The presence of unwanted contents in the images other than the occupant may be detected and the camera adjusted to minimize the presence of the unwanted contents in the images.

The post-processing may involve filtering the classification of the occupant from the neural network to remove random noise and/or comparing the classification of the occupant from the neural network to a previously obtained classification of the occupant and determining whether any difference in the classification is possible.

The classification of the occupant from the neural network may be displayed in a position visible to the occupant and enabling the occupant to change or confirm the classification.

The position of the occupant may be monitored when the occupant is classified as a child, an adult or a forward-facing child restraint. One way to do this is to input the compressed data or acquired images into an additional neural network designed to determine a recommendation for control of a system in the vehicle based on the monitoring of the position of the occupant. Also, a plurality of additional neural networks may be used, each designed to determine a recommendation for control of a system in the vehicle for a particular classification of occupant. In this case, the compressed data or acquired images is input into one of the neural networks designed to determine the recommendation for control of the system for the obtained classification of the occupant to thereby obtain a recommendation for the control of the system for the particular occupant.

In another embodiment, the method also involves acquiring images of the occupant from an additional camera, pre-processing the images acquired from the additional camera, compressing the data from the pre-processed images acquired from the additional camera, determining from the compressed data or the acquired images from the additional camera a particular condition of the occupant or condition of the environment in which the images have been acquired, inputting the compressed data from the pre-processed images acquired by the additional camera into one of the neural networks designed to determine the classification of the occupant for the determined condition to thereby obtain a classification of the occupant, subjecting the obtained classification of the occupant to post-processing to improve the probability of the classification of the occupant corresponding to the actual occupant and comparing the obtained classification using the images acquired form the additional camera to the images acquired from the initial camera to ascertain any variations in classification.

To further improve the operation of the ultrasonic portion of the system, especially when thermal gradients are present, the received signal is processed using a pseudo logarithmic compression circuit. This circuit compresses high amplitude reflections in comparison to low amplitude reflections and thereby diminishes the effects of diffraction cause by thermal gradients.

A method for categorizing and determining the position of an object in a passenger compartment of a vehicle in accordance with the invention comprises the steps of mounting a plurality of wave-receiving transducers on the vehicle, training a first neural network on signals from at least some of the transducers representative of waves received by the transducers when different objects in different positions are situated in the passenger compartment such that the first neural network provides an output signal indicative of the categorization of the object, and training a second neural network on signals from at least some of the transducers representative of waves received by the transducers when different objects in different positions are situated in the passenger compartment such that the second neural network provides an output signal indicative of the position of the object.

Another method for identifying an object in a passenger compartment of a vehicle comprises the steps of mounting a plurality of wave-emitting and receiving transducers on the vehicle, each transducer being arranged to transmit and receive waves at a different frequency, controlling the transducers to simultaneously transmit waves at the different frequencies into the passenger compartment, and identifying the object based on the waves received by at least some of the transducers after being modified by passing through the passenger compartment. The spacing between the frequencies of the waves transmitted and received by the transducers is determined in order to reduce the possibility of each transducer receiving waves transmitted by another transducer. The position of the object is determined based on the waves received by at least some of the transducers after being modified by passing through the passenger compartment.

When ultrasonic transducers are used, motion of a respective vibrating element of at least one transducer can be electronically reduced in order to reduce ringing of the transducer. Also, at least one transducer may be mounted in a respective tube having an opening through which the waves are transmitted and received.

A processor may be coupled to the transducers for controlling the transducers to simultaneously transmit waves at the different frequencies into the passenger compartment and receive signals representative of the waves received by the transducers after being modified by passing through the passenger compartment. The processor would then identify the object and/or determine the position of the object based on the signals representative of the waves received by at least some of the transducers.

One embodiment of the interior monitoring system in accordance with the invention comprises a device for irradiating at least a portion of the compartment or other part of a vehicle in which an occupying item is situated, a receiver system for receiving radiation from the occupying item, e.g., a plurality of receivers, each arranged at a discrete location, a processor coupled to the receivers for processing the received radiation from each receiver in order to create a respective electronic signal characteristic of the occupying item based on the received radiation, each signal containing a pattern representative of the occupying item, a categorization unit coupled to the processor for categorizing the signals, and an output device coupled to the categorization unit for affecting another system within the vehicle based on the categorization of the signals characteristic of the occupying item. The categorization unit may use a pattern recognition technique for recognizing and thus identifying the class of the occupying item by processing the signals into a categorization thereof based on data corresponding to patterns of received radiation and associated with possible classes of occupying items of the vehicle. Each signal may comprise a plurality of data, all of which is compared to the data corresponding to patterns of received radiation and associated with possible classes of contents of the vehicle. In one specific embodiment, the system includes a location determining unit coupled to the processor for determining the location of the occupying item, e.g., based on the received radiation such that the output device coupled to the location determining unit, in addition to affecting the other system based on the categorization of the signals characteristic of the occupying item, affects the system based on the determined location of the occupying item. In another embodiment to determine the presence or absence of an occupant, the categorization unit comprises a pattern recognition system for recognizing the presence or absence of an occupying item in the compartment by processing each signal into a categorization thereof signal based on data corresponding to patterns of received radiation and associated with possible occupying items of the vehicle and the absence of such occupying items.

In a disclosed method for determining the occupancy of a seat in a passenger compartment of a vehicle in accordance with the invention, waves such as ultrasonic or electromagnetic waves are transmitted into the passenger compartment toward the seat, reflected waves from the passenger compartment are received by a component which then generates an output representative thereof, the weight applied onto the seat is measured and an output is generated representative thereof and then the seated-state of the seat is evaluated based on the outputs from the sensors and the weight measuring unit.

The evaluation of the seated-state of the seat may be accomplished by generating a function correlating the outputs representative of the received reflected waves and the measured weight and the seated-state of the seat, and incorporating the correlation function into a microcomputer. In the alternative, it is possible to generate a function correlating the outputs representative of the received reflected waves and the measured weight and the seated-state of the seat in a neural network, and execute the function using the outputs representative of the received reflected waves and the measured weight as input into the neural network.

To enhance the seated-state determination, the position of a seat track of the seat is measured and an output representative thereof is generated, and then the seated-state of the seat is evaluated based on the outputs representative of the received reflected waves, the measured weight and the measured seat track position. In addition to or instead of measuring the seat track position, it is possible to measure the reclining angle of the seat, i.e., the angle between the seat portion and the back portion of the seat, and generate an output representative thereof, and then evaluate the seated-state of the seat based on the outputs representative of the received reflected waves, the measured weight and the measured reclining angle of the seat (and seat track position, if measured).

Furthermore, the output representative of the measured weight may be compared with a reference value, and the occupying object of the seat identified, e.g., as an adult or a child, based on the comparison of the measured weight with the reference value.

In another method disclosed herein for determining the identification and position of objects in a passenger compartment of a vehicle in accordance with the invention, electromagnetic waves are transmitted into the passenger compartment from one or more locations, a plurality of images of the interior of the passenger compartment are obtained, each from a respective location, a three-dimensional representation of a portion of the interior of the passenger compartment or of the occupying item is created from the images, and a pattern recognition technique is applied to the representation in order to determine the identification and position of the objects in the passenger compartment. The pattern recognition technique may be a neural network, fuzzy logic or an optical correlator or combinations thereof. The representation may be obtained by utilizing a scanning laser radar system where the laser is operated in a pulse mode and determining the distance from the object being illuminated using range gating. (See, for example, H. Kage, W. Freemen, Y Miyke, E. Funstsu, K. Tanaka, K. Kyuma “Artificial retina chips as on-chip image processors and gesture-oriented interfaces”, Optical Engineering, Dec., 1999, Vol. 38, Number 12, ISSN 0091-3286)

Also, disclosed herein is a system to identify, locate and monitor occupants, including their parts, and other objects in the compartment and objects outside of a vehicle, such as an automobile, container or truck, by illuminating the contents of the vehicle and/or objects outside of the vehicle with electromagnetic radiation, and preferably infrared radiation, using natural illumination such as from the sun, or using radiation naturally emanating from the object, and using one or more lenses to focus images of the contents onto one or more arrays of charge coupled devices (CCD's), CMOS or equivalent arrays. Outputs from the arrays are analyzed by appropriate computational devices employing trained pattern recognition technologies, to classify, identify or locate the contents and/or external objects. In general, the information obtained by the identification and monitoring system may be used to affect the operation of at least one other system in the vehicle.

In some implementations of the invention, several CCD, CMOS or equivalent arrays are placed such that the distance from, and the motion of the occupant toward, the airbag can be monitored as a transverse motion across the field of the array. In this manner, the need to measure the distance from the array to the object is obviated. In other implementations, the source of infrared light is a pulse-modulated laser which permits an accurate measurement of the distance to the point of reflection through the technique of range gating to measure the time of flight of the radiation pulse.

In some applications, a trained pattern recognition system, such as a neural network, sensor fusion or neural-fuzzy system is used to identify the occupancy of the vehicle or an object exterior to the vehicle. In some of these cases, the pattern recognition system determines which of a library of images most closely matches the seated state of a particular vehicle seat and thereby the location of certain parts of an occupant can be accurately estimated from stored data relating to the matched images, thus removing the requirement for the pattern recognition system to locate the head of an occupant, for example.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, the system for determining the occupancy state of a seat in a vehicle includes a plurality of transducers including at least two wave-receiving or electric field transducers arranged in the vehicle, each providing data relating to the occupancy state of the seat. One wave-receiving or electric field transducer is arranged on or adjacent to a ceiling of the vehicle and a second wave-receiving or electric field transducer is arranged at a different location in the vehicle such that an axis connecting these transducers is substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the vehicle, substantially parallel to a transverse axis of the vehicle or passes through a volume above the seat. A processor is coupled to the transducers for receiving data from the transducers and processing the data to obtain an output indicative of the current occupancy state of the seat. The processor comprises an algorithm which produces the output indicative of the current occupancy state of the seat upon inputting a data set representing the current occupancy state of the seat and being formed from data from the transducers.

Another measuring position arrangement comprises a light source capable of directing individual pulses of light, preferably infrared, into the environment, at least one array of light-receiving pixels arranged to receive light after reflection by any objects in the environment and a processor for determining the distance between any objects from which any pulse of light is reflected and the light source based on a difference in time between the emission of a pulse of light by the light source and the reception of light by the array. The light source can be arranged at various locations in the vehicle as described above to direct light into external and/or internal environments, relative to the vehicle.

The portion of the apparatus which includes the ultrasonic, optical or electromagnetic sensors, weight measuring unit and processor which evaluate the occupancy of the seat based on the measured weight of the seat and its contents and the returned waves from the ultrasonic, optical or electromagnetic sensors, may be considered to constitute a seated-state detecting unit. The seated-state detecting unit may further comprise a seat track position-detecting sensor. This sensor determines the position of the seat on the seat track in the forward and aft direction. In this case, the evaluation circuit evaluates the seated-state, based on a correlation function obtain from outputs of the ultrasonic sensors, an output of the weight sensor(s), and an output of the seat track position detecting sensor. With this structure, there is the advantage that the identification between the flat configuration of a detected surface in a state where a passenger is not sitting in the seat and the flat configuration of a detected surface which is detected when a seat is slid backwards by the amount of the thickness of a passenger, that is, of identification of whether a passenger seat is vacant or occupied by a passenger, can be reliably performed. Furthermore, the seated-state detecting unit may also comprise a reclining angle detecting sensor, and the evaluation circuit may also evaluate the seated-state based on a correlation function obtained from outputs of the ultrasonic, optical or electromagnetic sensors, an output of the weight sensor(s), and an output of the reclining angle detecting sensor. In this case, if the tilted angle information of the back portion of the seat is added as evaluation information for the seated-state, identification can be clearly performed between the flat configuration of a surface detected when a passenger is in a slightly slouching state and the configuration of a surface detected when the back portion of a seat is slightly tilted forward and similar difficult-to-discriminate cases.

This embodiment may even be combined with the output from a seat track position-detecting sensor to further enhance the evaluation circuit. Moreover, the seated-state detecting unit may comprise a comparison circuit for comparing the output of the weight sensor(s) with a reference value. In this case, the evaluation circuit identifies an adult and a child based on the reference value. Preferably, the seated-state detecting unit comprises: a plurality of ultrasonic, optical or electromagnetic sensors for transmitting ultrasonic or electromagnetic waves toward a seat and receiving reflected waves from the seat; one or more pressure or weight sensors for detecting seat pressure applied by or weight of a passenger in the seat; a seat track position detecting sensor; a reclining angle detecting sensor; and a neural network to which outputs of the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors and the pressure or weight sensor(s), an output of the seat track position detecting sensor, and an output of the reclining angle detecting sensor are inputted and which evaluates several kinds of seated-states, based on a correlation function obtained from the outputs. The kinds of seated-states that can be evaluated and categorized by the neural network include the following categories, among others, (i) a normally seated passenger and a forward facing child seat, (ii) an abnormally seated passenger and a rear-facing child seat, and (iii) a vacant seat. The seated-state detecting unit may further comprise a comparison circuit for comparing the output of the seat pressure or weight sensor(s) with a reference value and a gate circuit to which the evaluation signal and a comparison signal from the comparison circuit are input. This gate circuit, which may be implemented in software or hardware, outputs signals which evaluate several kinds of seated-states. These kinds of seated-states can include a (i) normally seated passenger, (ii) a forward facing child seat, (iii) an abnormally seated passenger, (iv) a rear facing child seat, and (v) a vacant seat. With this arrangement, the identification between a normally seated passenger and a forward facing child seat, the identification between an abnormally seated passenger and a rear facing child seat, and the identification of a vacant seat can be more reliably performed. The outputs of the plurality of ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors, the output of the seat pressure or weight sensor(s), the outputs of the seat track position detecting sensor, and the outputs of the reclining angle detecting sensor are inputted to the neural network or other pattern recognition circuit, and the neural network determines the correlation function, based on training thereof during a training phase. The correlation function is then typically implemented in or incorporated into a microcomputer. For the purposes herein, neural network will be used to include both a single neural network, a plurality of neural networks, and other similar pattern recognition circuits or algorithms and combinations thereof including the combination of neural networks and fuzzy logic systems such as neural-fuzzy systems. To provide the input from the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors to the neural network, it is preferable that an initial reflected wave portion and a last reflected wave portion are removed from each of the reflected waves of the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors and then the output data is processed. This is a form of range gating. With this arrangement, the portions of the reflected ultrasonic or electromagnetic wave that do not contain useful information are removed from the analysis and the presence and recognition of an object on the passenger seat can be more accurately performed. The neural network determines the correlation function by performing a weighting process, based on output data from the plurality of ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors, output data from the seat pressure or weight sensor(s), output data from the seat track position detecting sensor if present, and/or on output data from the reclining angle detecting sensor if present. Additionally, in advanced systems, outputs from the heartbeat and occupant motion sensors may be included.

With this arrangement, the portions of the reflected ultrasonic wave that do not contain useful information are removed from the analysis and the presence and recognition of an object on the passenger seat can be more accurately performed. Similar data pruning can take place with electromagnetic sensors on both a temporal or spatial basis.

One method described herein for determining the identification and position of objects in a passenger compartment of a vehicle in accordance with at least one invention herein comprises the steps of transmitting electromagnetic waves (optical or non-optical) into the passenger compartment from one or more locations, obtaining a plurality of images of the interior of the passenger compartment from several locations, and comparing the images of the interior of the passenger compartment with stored images representing different arrangements of objects in the passenger compartment, such as by using a neural network, to determine which of the stored images match most closely to the images of the interior of the passenger compartment such that the identification of the objects and their position is obtained based on data associated with the stored images. The electromagnetic waves may be transmitted from transmitter/receiver assemblies positioned at different locations around a seat such that each assembly is situated near a middle of a side of the ceiling surrounding the seat or near the middle of the headliner directly above the seat. The method would thus be operative to determine the identification and/or position of the occupants of that seat. Each assembly may comprise an optical transmitter (such as an infrared LED, an infrared LED with a diverging lens, a laser with a diverging lens and a scanning laser assembly) and an optical array (such as a CCD array and a CMOS array). The optical array is thus arranged to obtain the images of the interior of the passenger compartment represented by a matrix of pixels.

To enhance the method, prior to the comparison of the images, each obtained image or output from each array may be compared with a series of stored images or arrays representing different unoccupied states of the passenger compartment, such as different positions of the seat when unoccupied, and each stored image or array is subtracted from the obtained image or acquired array. Another way to determine which stored image matches most closely to the images of the interior of the passenger compartment is to analyze the total number of pixels of the image reduced below a threshold level, and analyze the minimum number of remaining detached pixels. Preferably, a library of stored images is generated by positioning an object on the seat, transmitting electromagnetic waves into the passenger compartment from one or more locations, obtaining images of the interior of the passenger compartment, each from a respective location, associating the images with the identification and position of the object, and repeating the positioning step, transmitting step, image obtaining step and associating step for the same object in different positions and for different objects in different positions. If the objects include a steering wheel, a seat and a headrest, the angle of the steering wheel, the telescoping position of the steering wheel, the angle of the back of the seat, the position of the headrest and the position of the seat may be obtained by the image comparison.

One advantage of this implementation is that after the identification and position of the objects are obtained, one or more systems in the vehicle, such as an occupant restraint device or system, a mirror adjustment system, a seat adjustment system, a steering wheel adjustment system, a pedal adjustment system, a headrest positioning system, a directional microphone, an air-conditioning/heating system, an entertainment system, may be affected based on the obtained identification and position of at least one of the objects.

The image comparison may entail inputting the images or a form thereof, or features extracted therefrom such as edges, into a neural network which provides for each image of the interior of the passenger compartment, an index of a stored image that most closely matches the image of the interior of the passenger compartment. The index is thus utilized to locate stored information from the matched image including, inter alia, a locus of a point representative of the position of the chest of the person, a locus of a point representative of the position of the head of the person, one or both ears of the person, one or both eyes of the person and the mouth of the person. Moreover, the position of the person relative to at least one airbag or other occupant restraint system of the vehicle may be determined so that deployment of the airbag(s) or occupant restraint system is controlled based on the determined position of the person. It is also possible to obtain information about the location of the eyes of the person from the image comparison and adjust the position of one or more of the rear view mirrors based on the location of the eyes of the person. Also, the location of the eyes of the person may be obtained such that an external light source may be filtered by darkening the windshield, or a transparent visor, of the vehicle at selective locations based on the location of the eyes of the person. Further, the location of the ears of the person may be obtained such that a noise cancellation system in the vehicle is operated based on the location the ears of the person. The location of the mouth of the person may be used to direct a directional microphone in the vehicle. In addition, the location of the locus of a point representative of the position of the chest or head (e.g., the probable center of the chest or head) over time may be monitored by the image comparison and one or more systems in the vehicle controlled based on changes in the location of the locus of the center of the chest or head over time. This monitoring may entail subtracting a most recently obtained image from an immediately preceding image and analyzing a leading edge of changes in the images or deriving a correlation function which correlates the images with the chest or head in an initial position with the most recently obtained images. In one particularly advantageous embodiment, the pressure or weight applied onto the seat is measured and one or more systems in the vehicle are affected (controlled) based on the measured pressure or weight applied onto the seat and the identification and position of the objects in the passenger compartment.

Also disclosed herein is an arrangement for determining vehicle occupant position relative to a fixed structure within the vehicle which comprises an array structured and arranged to receive an image of a portion of the passenger compartment of the vehicle in which the occupant is likely to be situated, a lens arranged between the array and the portion of the passenger compartment, an adjustment unit for changing the image received by the array, and a processor coupled to the array and the adjustment unit. The processor determines, upon changing by the adjustment unit of the image received by the array, when the image is clearest whereby a distance between the occupant and the fixed structure is obtainable based on the determination by the processor when the image is clearest. The image may be changed by adjusting the lens, e.g., adjusting the focal length of the lens and/or the position of the lens relative to the array, by adjusting the array, e.g., the position of the array relative to the lens, and/or by using software to perform a focusing process. The array may be arranged in several advantageous locations on the vehicle, e.g., on an A-pillar of the vehicle, above a top surface of an instrument panel of the vehicle and on an instrument panel of the vehicle and oriented to receive an image reflected by a windshield of the vehicle. The array may be a CCD array with an optional liquid crystal or electrochromic glass filter coupled to the array for filtering the image of the portion of the passenger compartment. The array could also be a CMOS array. In a preferred embodiment, the processor is coupled to an occupant protection device and controls the occupant protection device based on the distance between the occupant and the fixed structure. For example, the occupant protection device could be an airbag whereby deployment of the airbag is controlled by the processor. The processor may be any type of data processing unit such as a microprocessor. This arrangement could be adapted for determining distance between the vehicle and exterior objects, in particular, objects in a blind spot of the driver. In this case, such an arrangement would comprise an array structured and arranged to receive an image of an exterior environment surrounding the vehicle containing at least one object, a lens arranged between the array and the exterior environment, an adjustment unit for changing the image received by the array, and a processor coupled to the array and the adjustment unit. The processor determines, upon changing by the adjustment unit of the image received by the array, when the image is clearest whereby a distance between the object and the vehicle is obtainable based on the determination by the processor when the image is clearest. As before, the image may be changed by adjusting the lens, e.g., adjusting the focal length of the lens and/or the position of the lens relative to the array, by adjusting the array, e.g., the position of the array relative to the lens, and/or by using software to perform a focusing process. The array may be a CCD array with an optional liquid crystal or electrochromic glass filter coupled to the array for filtering the image of the portion of the passenger compartment. The array could also be a CMOS array. In a preferred embodiment, the processor is coupled to an occupant protection device and control the occupant protection device based on the distance between the occupant and the fixed structure. For example, the occupant protection device could be an airbag whereby deployment of the airbag is controlled by the processor. The processor may be any type of data processing unit such as a microprocessor.

At least one of the above-listed objects is achieved by an arrangement for determining vehicle occupant presence, type and/or position relative to a fixed structure within the vehicle, the vehicle having a front seat and an A-pillar. The arrangement comprises a first array mounted on the A-pillar of the vehicle and arranged to receive an image of a portion of the passenger compartment in which the occupant is likely to be situated, and a processor coupled to the first array for determining the presence, type and/or position of the vehicle occupant based on the image of the portion of the passenger compartment received by the first array. The processor preferably is arranged to utilize a pattern recognition technique, e.g., a trained neural network, sensor fusion, fuzzy logic. The processor can determine the vehicle occupant presence, type and/or position based on the image of the portion of the passenger compartment received by the first array. In some embodiments, a second array is arranged to receive an image of at least a part of the same portion of the passenger compartment as the first array. The processor is coupled to the second array and determines the vehicle occupant presence, type and/or position based on the images of the portion of the passenger compartment received by the first and second arrays. The second array may be arranged at a central portion of a headliner of the vehicle between sides of the vehicle. The determination of the occupant presence, type and/or position can be used in conjunction with a reactive component, system or subsystem so that the processor controls the reactive component, system or subsystem based on the determination of the occupant presence, type and/or position. For example, if the reactive component, system or subsystem is an airbag assembly including at least one airbag, the processor controls one or more deployment parameters of the airbag(s). The arrays may be CCD arrays with an optional liquid crystal or electrochromic glass filter coupled to the array for filtering the image of the portion of the passenger compartment. The arrays could also be CMOS arrays, active pixel cameras and HDRC cameras. In some cases only the second headliner mounted array is used.

Another embodiment disclosed herein is an arrangement for obtaining information about a vehicle occupant within the vehicle which comprises a transmission unit for transmitting a structured pattern of light, e.g., polarized light, a geometric pattern of dots, lines etc., into a portion of the passenger compartment in which the occupant is likely to be situated, an array arranged to receive an image of the portion of the passenger compartment, and a processor coupled to the array for analyzing the image of the portion of the passenger compartment to obtain information about the occupant. The transmission unit and array are proximate but not co-located one another and the information obtained about the occupant is a distance from the location of the transmission unit and the array. The processor obtains the information about the occupant utilizing a pattern recognition technique. The information about of the occupant can be used in conjunction with a reactive component, system or subsystem so that the processor controls the reactive component, system or subsystem based on the determination of the occupant presence, type and/or position. For example, if the reactive component, system or subsystem is an airbag assembly including at least one airbag, the processor controls one or more deployment parameters of the airbag(s).

Also disclosed herein is a system for determining occupancy of a vehicle which comprises a radar system for emitting radio waves into an interior of the vehicle in which objects might be situated and receiving radio waves and a processor coupled to the radar system for determining the presence of any repetitive motions indicative of a living occupant in the vehicle based on the radio waves received by the radar system such that the presence of living occupants in the vehicle is ascertainable upon the determination of the presence of repetitive motions indicative of a living occupant. Repetitive motions indicative of a living occupant may be a heartbeat or breathing as reflected by movement of the chest. Thus, for example, the processor may be programmed to analyze the frequency of the repetitive motions based on the radio waves received by the radar system whereby a frequency in a predetermined range is indicative of a heartbeat or breathing. The vehicle may be an ambulance. The processor could also be designed to analyze motion only at particular locations in the vehicle in which a chest of any occupants would be located whereby motion at the particular locations is indicative of a heartbeat or breathing. Enhancements of the invention include the provision of a unit for determining locations of the chest of any occupants whereby the radar system is adjusted based on the determined location of the chest of any occupants. The radar system may be a micropower impulse radar system which monitors motion at a set distance from the radar system, i.e., utilizes range-gating techniques. The radar system can be positioned to emit radio waves into a passenger compartment or trunk of the vehicle and/or toward a seat of the vehicle such that the processor determines whether the seats are occupied by living beings. Another enhancement would be to couple a reactive system to the processor for reacting to the determination by the processor of the presence of any repetitive motions. Such a reactive system might be an air connection device for providing or enabling air flow between the interior of the vehicle and the surrounding environment, if the presence of living beings is detected in a closed interior space. The reactive system could also be a security system for providing a warning. In one particularly useful embodiment, the radar system emits radio waves into a trunk of the vehicle and the reactive system is a trunk release for opening the trunk. The reactive system could also be airbag system which is controlled based on the determined presence of repetitive motions in the vehicle and a window opening system for opening a window associated with the passenger compartment.

A method for determining occupancy of the vehicle disclosed herein comprises the steps of emitting radio waves into an interior of the vehicle in which objects might be situated, receiving radio waves after interaction with any objects and determining the presence of any repetitive motions indicative of a living occupant in the vehicle based on the received radio waves such that the presence of living occupants in the vehicle is ascertainable upon the determination of the presence of repetitive motions indicative of a living occupant. Determining the presence of any repetitive motions can entail analyzing the frequency of the repetitive motions based on the received radio waves whereby a frequency in a predetermined range is indicative of a heartbeat or breathing and/or analyzing motion only at particular locations in the vehicle in which a chest of any occupants would be located whereby motion at the particular locations is indicative of a heartbeat or breathing. If the locations of the chest of any occupants are determined, the emission of radio waves can be adjusted based thereon. A radio wave emitter and receiver can be arranged to emit radio waves into a passenger compartment of the vehicle. Upon a determination of the presence of any occupants in the vehicle, air flow between the interior of the vehicle and the surrounding environment can be enabled or provided. A warning can also be provided upon a determination of the presence of any occupants in the vehicle. If the radio wave emitter and receiver emit radio waves into a trunk of the vehicle, the trunk can be designed to automatically open upon a determination of the presence of any occupants in the trunk to thereby prevent children or pets from suffocating if inadvertently left in the trunk. In a similar manner, if the radio wave emitter and receiver emits radio waves into a passenger compartment of the vehicle, a window associated with the passenger compartment can be automatically opened upon a determination of the presence of any occupants in the passenger compartment to thereby prevent people or pets from suffocating if the temperature of the air in the passenger compartment rises to an dangerous level.

Also disclosed herein is a vehicle including a monitoring arrangement for monitoring an environment of the vehicle which comprises at least one active pixel camera for obtaining images of the environment of the vehicle and a processor coupled to the active pixel camera(s) for determining at least one characteristic of an object in the environment based on the images obtained by the active pixel camera(s). The active pixel camera can be arranged in a headliner, roof or ceiling of the vehicle to obtain images of an interior environment of the vehicle, in an A-pillar or B-pillar of the vehicle to obtain images of an interior environment of the vehicle, or in a roof, ceiling, B-pillar or C-pillar of the vehicle to obtain images of an interior environment of the vehicle behind a front seat of the vehicle. These mounting locations are exemplary only and not limiting.

The determined characteristic can be used to enable optimal control of a reactive component, system or subsystem coupled to the processor. When the reactive component is an airbag assembly including at least one airbag, the processor can be designed to control at least one deployment parameter of the airbag(s).

One embodiment of a seated-state detecting unit and method for ascertaining the identity of an object in a seat in a passenger compartment of a vehicle in accordance with the invention comprises a wave-receiving sensor arranged to receive waves from a space above the seat and generate an output representative of the received waves, pressure or weight measuring means associated with the seat for measuring the pressure weight applied onto the seat (such as described herein) and generating an output representative of the measured pressure or weight applied onto the seat, and processor means for receiving the outputs from the wave-receiving sensor and the pressure or weight measuring means and for evaluating the seated-state of the seat based thereon to determine whether the seat is occupied by an object and when the seat is occupied by an object, to ascertain the identity of the object in the seat based on the outputs from the wave-receiving sensor and the weight measuring means. If necessary depending on the type of wave-receiving sensor, waves are transmitted into the passenger compartment toward the seat to enable reception of the same by the wave-receiving sensor. The wave-receiving sensor may be an ultrasonic sensor structured and arranged to receive ultrasonic waves, an electromagnetic sensor structured and arranged to receive electromagnetic waves or a capacitive or electric field sensor for generating an output representative of the object based on the object's dielectric properties. The processor means may comprise a microcomputer into which a function correlating the outputs from the wave-receiving sensor and the pressure or weight measuring means and the seated-state of the seat is incorporated or a neural network which generates a function correlating the outputs from the wave-receiving sensor and the pressure or weight measuring means and the seated-state of the seat and executes the function using the outputs from the wave-receiving sensor and the pressure or weight measuring means as input to determine the seated-state of the seat.

Additional sensors may be provided to enhance the procedure for ascertaining the identity of the object. Such sensors, e.g., a seat position detecting sensor, reclining angle detecting sensor, heartbeat or other animal life state sensor, motion sensor, etc., provide output directly or indirectly related to the object which is considered by the processor means when evaluating the seated-state of the seat.

The pressure or weight measuring means may comprise one or more pressure or weight sensors such as strain gage bases sensors, possibly arranged in connection with the seat, for measuring the force or pressure applied onto at least a portion of the seat. In the alternative, a bladder having at least one chamber may be arranged in a seat portion of the seat for measuring the force or pressure applied onto at least a portion of the seat.

The sensor system may comprise an array of occupant proximity sensors, each sensing distance from the occupant to that proximity sensor. The microprocessor determines the occupant's position by determining each distance and triangulating the distances from the occupant to each proximity sensor. The microprocessor includes memory in which the positions of the occupant over some interval of time are stored. The sensor system may be particularly sensitive to the position of the head of the passenger. As to the position of the sensor system, it may be arranged on the rear view mirror assembly, on the roof, on a windshield header of the vehicle, positioned to be operative rearward and/or at a front of the passenger compartment.

Another arrangement disclosed herein for determining the position of an occupant of a vehicle situated on a seat in the vehicle comprises occupant position sensing means for obtaining a first approximation of the position of the occupant, and confirmatory position sensing means for obtaining a second approximation of the position of the occupant such that a likely actual position of the occupant is reliably determinable from the first and second approximations. The confirmatory position sensing means are arranged to measure the position of the seat and/or a part thereof relative to a fixed point of reference and the length of a seatbelt pulled out of a seatbelt retractor. For example, the confirmatory position sensing means can be one or more sensors arranged to measure the position of a seat portion of the seat, the position of a back portion of the seat and the length of the seatbelt pulled out of the seatbelt retractor.

Furthermore, also disclosed herein is an apparatus for evaluating occupancy of a seat comprising emitter means for emitting electromagnetic radiation (e.g., visible light or infrared radiation (also referred to as infrared light herein)) into a space above the seat, detector means for detecting the emitted electromagnetic radiation returning from the direction of the seat, and processor means coupled to the detector means for determining the presence of an occupying item of the seat based on the electromagnetic radiation detected by the detector means, and if an occupying item is present, distinguishing between different occupying items to thereby obtain information about the occupancy of the seat. The processor means can also be arranged to determine the position of an occupying item if present and/or the position of only a part of an occupying item if present. In the latter case, if the occupying item is a human occupant, the part of the occupant whose position is determined by the processor means can be, e.g., the head of the occupant and the chest of the occupant. The detector means may comprise a plurality of detectors, e.g., receiver arrays such as CCD arrays or CMOS arrays, and the position of the part of the occupant determined by triangulation. In additional embodiments, the processor means can comprise pattern recognition means for applying an algorithm derived by conducting tests on the electromagnetic radiation detected by the detector means in the absence of an occupying item of the seat and in the presence of different occupying items. The emitter means may be arranged to emit a plurality of narrow beams of electromagnetic radiation, each in a different direction or include an emitter structured and arranged to scan through the space above the seat by emitting a single beam of electromagnetic radiation in one direction and changing the direction in which the beam of electromagnetic radiation is emitted. Either pulsed electromagnetic radiation or continuous electromagnetic radiation may be emitted. Further, if infrared radiation is emitted, the detector means are structured and arranged to detect infrared radiation. It is possible that the emitter means are arranged such that the infrared radiation emitted by the emitter means travels in a first direction toward a windshield of a vehicle in which the seat is situated, reflects off of the windshield and then travels in a second direction toward the space above the seat. The detector means may comprise an array of focused receivers such that an image of the occupying item if present is obtained. Possible locations of the emitter means and detector means include proximate or attached to a rear view mirror assembly of a vehicle in which the seat is situated, attached to the roof or headliner of a vehicle in which the seat is situated, arranged on a steering wheel of a vehicle in which the seat is situated and arranged on an instrument panel of the vehicle in which the seat is situated. The apparatus may also comprise determining means for determining whether the occupying item is a human being whereby the processor means are coupled to the determining means and arranged to consider the determination by the determining means as to whether the occupying item is a human being. For example, the determining means may comprise a passive infrared sensor for receiving infrared radiation emanating from the space above the seat or a motion or life sensor (e.g. a heartbeat sensor).

An embodiment of the vehicle occupant position and velocity sensor disclosed herein comprises ultrasonic sensor means for determining the relative position and velocity of the occupant within the motor vehicle, attachment means for attaching the sensor means to the motor vehicle, and response means coupled to the sensor means for responding to the determined relative position and velocity of the occupant. The ultrasonic sensor means may comprise at least one ultrasonic transmitter which transmits ultrasonic waves into a passenger compartment of the vehicle, at least one ultrasonic receiver which receives ultrasonic waves transmitted from the ultrasonic transmitter(s) after they have been reflected off of the occupant, position determining means for determining the position of the occupant by measuring the time for the ultrasonic waves to travel from the transmitter(s) to the receiver(s), and velocity determining means for determining the velocity of the occupant, for example, by measuring the frequency difference between the transmitted and the received waves. Further, the ultrasonic sensor means may be structured and arranged to determine the position and velocity of the occupant at a frequency exceeding that determined by the formula: the velocity of sound divided by two times the distance from the sensor means to the occupant. In addition, the ultrasonic sensor means may comprise at least one transmitter for transmitting a group of ultrasonic waves toward the occupant, at least one receiver for receiving at least some of the group of transmitted ultrasonic waves after reflection off of the occupant, the at least some of the group of transmitted ultrasonic waves constituting a group of received ultrasonic waves, measurement means for measuring a time delay between the time that the group of waves were transmitted by the at least one transmitter and the time that the group of waves were received by the at least one receiver, determining means for determining the position of the occupant based on the time delay between transmission of the group of transmitted ultrasonic waves and reception of the group of received ultrasonic waves, and velocity detector means for determining the velocity of the occupant, e.g., a passive infrared detector.

Also disclosed herein is an occupant head position sensor in accordance with the invention may comprise wave generator means arranged in the vehicle for directing waves toward a location in which a head of the occupant is situated, receiver means for receiving the waves reflected from the occupant's head, pattern recognition means coupled to the receiver means for receiving for determining the position of the occupant's head based on the waves reflected from the occupant's head and response means for responding to changes in the position of the occupant's head. The response means may comprise an alarm and/or limiting means for limiting the speed of the vehicle.

Other disclosed inventions include an arrangement in a vehicle for identifying an occupying item which comprises means for obtaining information or data about the occupying item and a pattern recognition system for receiving the information or data about the occupying item and analyzing the information or data about the occupying item with respect to size, position, shape and/or motion to determine what the occupying item is whereby a distinction can be made as to whether the occupying item is human or an inanimate object. The analysis with respect to size includes analysis with respect to changes in size, the analysis with respect to shape includes analysis with respect to changes in shape and the analysis with respect to position includes analysis with respect to changes in position. The means for obtaining information or data may comprise one or more receiver arrays (CCD's or CMOS arrays) which convert light, including infrared and ultraviolet radiation, into electrical signals such that the information or data about the occupying item is in the form of one or more electrical signals representative of an image of the occupying item. If two receiver arrays are used, they could be mounted one on each side of a steering wheel of the vehicle or the module in the case of a passenger airbag system. In the alternative, the means for obtaining information or data may comprise a single axis phase array antenna such that the information or data about the occupying item is in the form of an electrical signal representative of an image of the occupying item. A scanning radar beam and/or an array of light beams would also be preferably provided.

The arrangement could include means for obtaining information or data about the position and/or motion of the occupying item and a pattern recognition system for receiving the information or data about the position and/or motion of the occupying item and analyzing the information or data to determine what the occupying item is whereby a distinction can be made as to whether the occupying item is an occupant or an inanimate object based on its position and/or motion.

Disclosed herein is also a method for identifying an occupying item of a vehicle which comprises the steps of obtaining information or data about the occupying item, providing the information or data about the occupying item to a pattern recognition system, and determining what the occupying item is by analyzing the information or data about the occupying item with respect to size, position, shape and/or motion in the pattern recognition system whereby the pattern recognition system differentiates a human occupant from inanimate objects.

Another disclosed method for identifying an occupying item of a vehicle comprises the steps of obtaining information or data about the position and/or motion of the occupying item, providing the information or data about the position of the occupying item to a pattern recognition system, and determining what the occupying item is by analyzing the information or data about the position of the occupying item in the pattern recognition system whereby the pattern recognition system differentiates a human occupant from inanimate objects.

Acquisition of data may be from a plurality of sensors arranged in the vehicle, each providing data relating to the occupancy state of the seat. Possible sensors include a camera, an ultrasonic sensor, a capacitive sensor or other electric or magnetic field monitoring sensor, a weight or other morphological characteristic detecting sensor and a seat position sensor. Further sensors include an electromagnetic wave sensor, an electric field sensor, a seat belt buckle sensor, a seatbelt payout sensor, an infrared sensor, an inductive sensor, a radar sensor, a pressure or weight distribution sensor, a reclining angle detecting sensor for detecting a tilt angle of the seat between a back portion of the seat and a seat portion of the seat, and a heartbeat sensor for sensing a heartbeat of the occupant.

Classification of the type of occupant and the size of the occupant may be performed by a combination neural network created from a plurality of data sets, each data set representing a different occupancy state of the seat and being formed from data from the at least one sensor while the seat is in that occupancy state.

A feedback loop may be used in which a previous determination of the position of the occupant is provided to the algorithm for determining a current position of the occupant.

Adjustment of deployment of the occupant protection device when the occupant is classified as an empty seat or a rear-facing child seat may entail a depowered deployment, an oriented deployment and/or a late deployment.

A gating function may be incorporated into the method whereby it is determined whether the acquired data is compatible with data for classification of the type or size of the occupant and when the acquired data is not compatible with the data for classification of the type or size of the occupant, the acquired data is rejected and new data is acquired.

15.2 Control of Passive Restraints

In order to achieve one or more of the above-listed objects, a method for controlling deployment of an airbag comprises the steps of determining the position of an occupant to be protected by deployment of the airbag, assessing the probability that a crash requiring deployment of the airbag is occurring and enabling deployment of the airbag in consideration of the determined position of the occupant and the assessed probability that a crash is occurring. Deployment of the airbag may be enabled by analyzing the assessed probability relative to a pre-determined threshold whereby deployment of the airbag is enabled only when the assessed probability is greater than the threshold. The threshold may be adjusted based on the determined position of the occupant.

The position of the occupant may be determined in various ways including by receiving and analyzing waves from a space in a passenger compartment of the vehicle occupied by the occupant, transmitting waves to impact the occupant, receiving waves after impact with the occupant and measuring time between transmission and reception of the waves, obtaining two or three-dimensional images of a passenger compartment of the vehicle occupied by the occupant and analyzing the images with an optional focusing of the images prior to analysis, or by moving a beam of radiation through a passenger compartment of the vehicle occupied by the occupant. The waves may be ultrasonic, radar, electromagnetic, passive infrared, and the like, and capacitive in nature. In the latter case, a capacitance or capacitive sensor may be provided. An electric field sensor could also be used.

Deployment of the airbag can be disabled when the determined position is too close to the airbag.

The rate at which the airbag is inflated and/or the time in which the airbag is inflated may be determined based on the determined position of the occupant.

Another method for controlling deployment of an airbag comprises the steps of determining the position of an occupant to be protected by deployment of the airbag and adjusting a threshold used in a sensor algorithm which enables or suppresses deployment of the airbag based on the determined position of the occupant. The probability that a crash requiring deployment of the airbag is occurring may be assed and analyzed relative to the threshold whereby deployment of the airbag is enabled only when the assessed probability is greater than the threshold. The position of the occupant can be determined in any of the ways mentioned herein.

A system for controlling deployment of an airbag comprises determining means for determining the position of an occupant to be protected by deployment of the airbag, sensor means for assessing the probability that a crash requiring deployment of the airbag is occurring, and circuit means coupled to the determining means, the sensor means and the airbag for enabling deployment of the airbag in consideration of the determined position of the occupant and the assessed probability that a crash is occurring. The circuit means are structured and arranged to analyze the assessed probability relative to a pre-determined threshold whereby deployment of the airbag is enabled only when the assessed probability is greater than the threshold. Further, the circuit means are arranged to adjust the threshold based on the determined position of the occupant. The determining means may any of the determining systems discussed herein.

Another system for controlling deployment of an airbag comprises a crash sensor for providing information on a crash involving the vehicle, a position determining arrangement for determining the position of an occupant to be protected by deployment of the airbag and a circuit coupled to the airbag, the crash sensor and the position determining arrangement and arranged to issue a deployment signal to the airbag to cause deployment of the airbag. The circuit is arranged to consider a deployment threshold which varies based on the determined position of the occupant. Further, the circuit is arranged to assess the probability that a crash requiring deployment of the airbag is occurring and analyze the assessed probability relative to the threshold whereby deployment of the airbag is enabled only when the assessed probability is greater than the threshold.

A method for controlling deployment of an occupant restraint device based on the position of an object in a passenger compartment of a vehicle in accordance with the invention comprises the steps of mounting a plurality of wave-emitting and receiving transducers on the vehicle, each transducer being arranged to transmit and receive waves at a different frequency, controlling the transducers to simultaneously transmit waves at the different frequencies into the passenger compartment, determining whether the object is of a type requiring deployment of the occupant restraint device in the event of a crash involving the vehicle based on the waves received by at least some of the transducers after being modified by passing through the passenger compartment, and if so, determining whether the position of the object relative to the occupant restraint device would cause injury to the object upon deployment of the occupant restraint device based on the waves received by at least some of the transducers. The object may also be identified based on the waves received by at least some of the transducers after being modified by passing through the passenger compartment.

The determination of whether the object is of a type requiring deployment of the occupant restraint device may involve training a first neural network on signals from at least some of the transducers representative of waves received by the transducers when different objects are situated in the passenger compartment. The determination of whether the position of the object relative to the occupant restraint device would cause injury to the object upon deployment of the occupant restraint device may entail training a second neural network on signals from at least some of the transducers when different objects in different positions are situated in the passenger compartment.

In another method disclosed herein for determining the identification and position of objects in a passenger compartment of a vehicle, a plurality of images of the interior of the passenger compartment, each from a respective location and of radiation emanating from the objects in the passenger compartment, and the images of the radiation emanating from the objects in the passenger compartment are compared with data representative of stored images of radiation emanating from different arrangements of objects in the passenger compartment to determine which of the stored images match most closely to the images of the interior of the passenger compartment such that the identification of the objects and their position is obtained based on data associated with the stored images. In this embodiment, there is no illumination of the passenger compartment with electromagnetic waves. Nevertheless, the same processes described herein may be applied in conjunction with this method, e.g., affecting another system based on the position and identification of the objects, a library of stored images generated, external light source filtering, noise filtering, occupant restraint system deployment control and the possible utilization of weight for occupant restraint system control.

Another embodiment of an airbag control system comprises a sensor system mounted adjacent to or on an interior roof of the vehicle and a microprocessor connected to the sensor system and to an inflator of the air bag. The sensor system senses the position of the occupant with respect to the passenger compartment of the vehicle and generates output indicative of the position of the occupant. The microprocessor compares and performs an analysis of the output from the sensor system and activates the inflator to inflate the air bag when the analysis indicates that the vehicle is involved in a collision and deployment of the air bag is desired.

Also disclosed herein is a method of disabling an airbag system for a seating position within a motor vehicle which comprises the steps of providing to a roof above the seating position one or more electromagnetic wave occupant sensors, detecting presence or absence of an occupant of the seating position using the electromagnetic wave occupant sensor(s), disabling the airbag system if the seating position is unoccupied, detecting proximity of an occupant to the airbag door if the seating position is occupied and disabling the airbag system if the occupant is closer to the airbag door than a predetermined distance. The airbag deployment parameters, e.g., inflation rate and time of deployment, may be modified to adjust inflation of the airbag according to proximity of the occupant to the airbag door. The presence or absence of the occupant can be detected using pattern recognition techniques to process the waves received by the electromagnetic wave-occupant sensor(s).

An apparatus for disabling an airbag system for a seating position within a motor vehicle comprises one or more electromagnetic wave occupant sensors proximate a roof above the seating position, means for detecting presence or absence of an occupant of the seating position using the electromagnetic wave occupant sensor(s), means for disabling the airbag system if the seating position is unoccupied, means for detecting proximity of an occupant to the airbag door if the seating position is occupied and means for disabling the airbag system if the occupant is closer to the airbag door than a predetermined distance. Also, means for modifying airbag deployment parameters to adjust inflation of the airbag according to proximity of the occupant to the airbag door may be provided and may constitute a sensor algorithm resident in a crash sensor and diagnostic circuitry. The means for detecting presence or absence of the occupant may comprises a processor utilizing pattern recognition techniques to process the waves received by the electromagnetic wave-occupant sensor(s).

The motor vehicle air bag system for inflation and deployment of an air bag in front of a passenger in a motor vehicle during a collision in accordance with the invention comprises an air bag, inflation means connected to the airbag for inflating the same with a gas, passenger sensor means mounted adjacent to the interior roof of the vehicle for continuously sensing the position of a passenger with respect to the passenger compartment and for generating electrical output indicative of the position of the passenger and microprocessor means electrically connected to the passenger sensor means and to the inflation means. The microprocessor means compare and perform an analysis of the electrical output from the passenger sensor means and activate the inflation means to inflate and deploy the air bag when the analysis indicates that the vehicle is involved in a collision and that deployment of the air bag would likely reduce a risk of serious injury to the passenger which would exist absent deployment of the air bag and likely would not present an increased risk of injury to the passenger resulting from deployment of the air bag. In certain embodiments, the passenger sensor means is a means particularly sensitive to the position of the head of the passenger. The microprocessor means may include memory means for storing the positions of the passenger over some interval of time. The passenger sensor means may comprise an array of passenger proximity sensor means for sensing distance from a passenger to each of the passenger proximity sensor means. In this case, the microprocessor means includes means for determining passenger position by determining each of these distances and means for triangulation analysis of the distances from the passenger to each passenger proximity sensor means to determine the position of the passenger.

Thus, among the other inventions disclosed herein, is a simplified system for determining the approximate location of a vehicle occupant which may be used to control the deployment of the passive restraint. This occupant position determining system can be based on the position of the vehicle seat, the position of the seat back, the state of the seatbelt buckle switch, a seatbelt payout sensor or a combination of these. For example, in arrangements and method for determining the position of an occupant of a vehicle situated on a seat in accordance with the invention, the position of the seat and/or a part thereof is/are determined relative to a fixed point of reference to thereby enable a first approximation of the position of the occupant to be obtained, e.g., by a processor including a look-up table, algorithm or other means for correlating the position of the seat and/or part thereof to a likely position of the occupant. More particularly, the position of the seat portion of the seat and/or the back portion of the seat can be measured. If only the first approximation of the position of the occupant is obtained then this is considered the likely actual position of the occupant. However, to enhance the determination of the likely, actual position of the occupant, the length of the seatbelt pulled out of the seatbelt retractor can be measured by an appropriate sensor such that the position of the occupant is obtained in consideration of the position of the seat and the measured length of seatbelt pulled out of the seatbelt retractor. Also, a second approximation of the position of the occupant can be obtained, e.g., either by indirectly sensing the position of the occupant of the seat or by directly sensing the position of the occupant of the seat, such that the likely, actual position of the occupant is obtained in consideration of both approximations of the position of the occupant. By “directly” sensing the position of the occupant of the seat, it is meant that the position of the occupant itself is obtained by a detection of a property of the occupant without an intermediate measurement, e.g., a measurement of the position of the seat or the payout of the seatbelt, which must be correlated to the position of the occupant. Sensing the position of the occupant by taking an intermediate measurement would constitute an “indirect” sensing of the position of the occupant of the seat. The second approximation can be obtained by receiving waves from a space above the seat which are indicative of some aspect of the position of the occupant, e.g., the distance between the occupant and the receiver(s). If required, waves are transmitted into the space above the seat to be received by the receiver(s). Possible mounting locations for the transmitter and receiver(s) include proximate or attached to a rear view mirror assembly of the vehicle, attached to the roof or headliner of the vehicle, on a steering wheel of the vehicle, on an instrument panel of the vehicle and on a cover of an airbag module.

Other inventions disclosed herein are arrangements for controlling a deployable occupant restraint device in a vehicle to protect an occupant in a seat in the vehicle during a crash. Such arrangements include crash sensor means for determining whether deployment of the occupant restraint device is required as a result of the crash, an occupant position sensor arrangement for determining the position of the occupant, and processor means coupled to the crash sensor means and the occupant position sensor arrangement for controlling deployment of the occupant restraint device based on the determination by the crash sensor means if deployment of the occupant restraint device is required and the position of the occupant. The occupant position sensor arrangement includes seat position determining means for determining the position of the seat and/or a part thereof relative to a fixed point of reference to thereby enable a first approximation of the position of the occupant to be obtained. In the absence of additional approximations of the position of the occupant, the first approximation can be considered as the position of the occupant. The position of the seat and/or part thereof may be determined in any of the ways discussed herein. The occupant position sensor arrangement may include measuring means coupled to the processor means for measuring the length of the seatbelt pulled out of the seatbelt retractor such that the processor means control deployment of the occupant restraint device based on the determination by the crash sensor means if deployment of the occupant restraint device is required, the position of the occupant and the measured length of seatbelt pulled out of the seatbelt retractor. The occupant position sensor arrangement can also include means for providing an additional approximation of the position of the occupant, either a direct sensing of the position of the occupant (a measurement of a property of the occupant) or an indirect sensing (a measurement of a property of a component in the vehicle which can be correlated to the position of the occupant), such that this approximation will be used in conjunction with the first approximation to provide a better estimate of the likely, actual position of the occupant. Such means may include receiver means for receiving waves from a space above the seat and optional transmitter means for transmitting waves into the space above the seat to be received by the receiver means. Possible mounting locations for the transmitter means and receiver means include proximate or attached to a rear view mirror assembly of the vehicle, attached to the roof or headliner of the vehicle, on a steering wheel of the vehicle, on an instrument panel of the vehicle and on or proximate an occupant restraint device, e.g., on or proximate a cover of an airbag module. Other locations having a view of the space above seat are of course possible. An additional factor to consider in the deployment of the occupant restraint device is whether the seatbelt is buckled and thus in one embodiment, the occupant position sensor arrangement includes means coupled to the processor means for determining whether the seatbelt is buckled such that the processor means control deployment of the occupant restraint device based on the determination by the crash sensor means if deployment of the occupant restraint device is required, the position of the occupant and the determination of whether the seatbelt is buckled.

Another arrangement disclosed herein for controlling a deployable occupant restraint device in a vehicle to protect an occupant in a seat in the vehicle during a crash comprises crash sensor means for determining whether deployment of the occupant restraint device is required as a result of the crash, an occupant position sensor arrangement for determining the position of the occupant and processor means coupled to the crash sensor means and the occupant position sensor arrangement for controlling deployment of the occupant restraint device based on the determination by the crash sensor means if deployment of the occupant restraint device is required and the position of the occupant. The occupant position sensor arrangement includes occupant position sensing means for obtaining a first approximation of the position of the occupant, and confirmatory position sensing means for obtaining a second approximation of the position of the occupant such that the position of the occupant is reliably determinable from the first and second approximations. The confirmatory position sensing means are arranged to measure the position of the seat and/or a part thereof relative to a fixed point of reference and/or the length of a seatbelt pulled out of a seatbelt retractor. The occupant position sensor arrangement can also include means for determining whether the seatbelt is buckled in which case, the processor means control deployment of the occupant restraint device based on based on the determination by the crash sensor means if deployment of the occupant restraint device is required, the position of the occupant and the determination of whether the seatbelt is buckled.

A disclosed apparatus for controlling a deployable occupant restraint device in a vehicle to protect an occupant in a seat in the vehicle during a crash comprises emitter means for emitting electromagnetic radiation into a space above the seat, detector means for detecting the emitted electromagnetic radiation after it passes at least partially through the space above the seat, and processor means coupled to the detector means for determining the presence or absence of an occupying item of the seat based on the electromagnetic radiation detected by the detector means, if an occupying item is present, distinguishing between different occupying items to thereby obtain information about the occupancy of the seat, and affecting the deployment of the occupant restraint device based on the determined presence or absence of an occupying item and the information obtained about the occupancy of the seat. The processor means may also be arranged to determine the position of an occupying item if present and/or the distance between the occupying item if present and the occupant restraint device. In the latter case, deployment of the occupant restraint device is affected additionally based on the distance between the occupying item and the occupant restraint device. The processor means may also be arranged to determine the position of only a part of an occupying item if present, e.g., by triangulation. In additional embodiments, the processor means can comprise pattern recognition means for applying an algorithm derived by conducting tests on the electromagnetic radiation detected by the detector means in the absence of an occupying item of the seat and in the presence of different occupying items. The emitter means may be arranged to emit a plurality of narrow beams of electromagnetic radiation, each in a different direction or include an emitter structured and arranged to scan through the space above the seat by emitting a single beam of electromagnetic radiation in one direction and changing the direction in which the beam of electromagnetic radiation is emitted. Either pulsed electromagnetic radiation or continuous electromagnetic radiation may be emitted. Further, if infrared radiation is emitted, the detector means are structured and arranged to detect infrared radiation. It is possible that the emitter means are arranged such that the infrared radiation emitted by the emitter means travels in a first direction toward a windshield of a vehicle in which the seat is situated, reflects off of the windshield and then travels in a second direction toward the space above the seat. The detector means may comprise an array of focused receivers such that an image of the occupying item if present is obtained. Possible locations of the emitter means and detector means include proximate or attached to a rear view mirror assembly of a vehicle in which the seat is situated, attached to the roof or headliner of a vehicle in which the seat is situated, arranged on a steering wheel of a vehicle in which the seat is situated and arranged on an instrument panel of the vehicle in which the seat is situated. The apparatus may also comprise determining means for determining whether the occupying item is a human being whereby the processor means are coupled to the determining means and arranged to consider the determination by the determining means as to whether the occupying item is a human being. For example, the determining means may comprise a passive infrared sensor for receiving infrared radiation emanating from the space above the seat or a motion or life sensor (e.g. a heartbeat sensor). The processor means affect deployment of the occupant restraint device by suppressing deployment of the occupant restraint device, controlling the time at which deployment of the occupant restraint device starts, or controlling the rate of deployment of the occupant restraint device. If the occupant restraint device is an airbag inflatable with a gas, the processor means may affect deployment of the occupant restraint device by suppressing deployment of the airbag, controlling the time at which deployment of the airbag starts, controlling the rate of gas flow into the airbag, controlling the rate of gas flow out of the airbag or controlling the rate of deployment of the airbag.

In another invention disclosed herein, a vehicle occupant position system comprises sensor means for determining the position of the occupant in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, attachment means for attaching the sensor means to the motor vehicle; response means coupled to the sensor means for responding to the determined position of the occupant. The sensor means may comprise at least one transmitter for transmitting waves toward the occupant, at least one receiver for receiving waves which have been reflected off of the occupant and pattern recognition means for processing the waves received by the receiver(s). In some embodiments, when the vehicle includes a passive restraint system, the sensor means are arranged to determine the position of the occupant with respect to the passive restraint system, the system includes deployment means for deploying the passive restraint system and the response means comprise analysis means coupled to the sensor means and the deployment means for controlling the deployment means to deploy the passive restraint system based on the determined position of the occupant.

In yet another disclosed embodiment, the position and velocity sensor is arranged on the steering wheel or its assembly or on or in connection with the airbag module and is a wave-receiving sensor capable of receiving waves from the passenger compartment which vary depending on the distance between the sensor and an object in the passenger compartment. The sensor generates an output signal representative or corresponding to the received waves and thus which is a function of the instantaneous distance between the sensor and the object. By processing the output signal, e.g., in a processor, it is possible to determine the distance between the sensor and the object and the velocity of the object (e.g., from successive positions determinations). The sensor may be any known wave-receiving sensor includes those capable of receiving ultrasonic waves, infrared waves and electromagnetic waves. The sensor may also be a capacitance sensor which determines distance based on the capacitive coupling between one or more electrodes in the sensor and the object. According to another embodiment of the invention, a wave-generating transmitter is also mounted in the vehicle, possibly in combination with the wave-receiving sensor to thereby form a transmitter/receiver unit. The wave-generating transmitter can be designed to transmit a burst of waves which travel to the object (occupant) are modified by and/or are reflected back to and received by the wave-receiving sensor, which as noted above may be the same device as the transmitter. Both the transmitter and receiver may be mounted on the steering wheel or airbag module. The time period required for the waves to travel from the transmitter and return can be used to determine the position of the occupant (essentially the distance between the occupant and the sensor) and the frequency shift of the waves can be used to determine the velocity of the occupant relative to the airbag. Alternatively, the velocity of the occupant relative to the airbag can be determined from successive position measurements. The sensor is usually fixed in position relative to the airbag so that by determining the distance between the occupant and the sensor, it is possible to determine the distance between the airbag and the occupant. The transmitter can be any known wave propagating transmitter, such as an ultrasonic transmitter, infrared transmitter or electromagnetic-wave transmitter. In another embodiment, infrared or other electromagnetic radiation is directed toward the occupant and lenses are used to focus images of the occupant onto arrays of charge coupled devices (CCD). Outputs from the CCD arrays, are analyzed by appropriate logic circuitry, to determine the position and velocity of the occupant's head and chest. In yet another embodiment, a beam of radiation is moved back and forth across the occupant illuminating various portions of the occupant and with appropriate algorithms the position of the occupant in the seat is accurately determined. In a simple implementation, other information such as seat position and/or seatback position can be used with a buckle switch and/or seatbelt payout sensor to estimate the position of the occupant.

More particularly, an occupant position and velocity sensor system for a driver of a vehicle comprises a sensor arranged on or incorporated into the steering wheel assembly of the vehicle and which provides an output signal which varies as a function of the distance between the sensor and the driver of the vehicle such that the position of the driver can be determined relative to a fixed point in the vehicle. The sensor may be arranged on or incorporated into the steering wheel assembly. If the steering wheel assembly includes an airbag module, the sensor can be arranged in connection with the airbag module possibly in connection with the cover of the airbag module. The sensor can be arranged to receive waves (e.g., ultrasonic, infrared or electromagnetic) from the passenger compartment indicative of the distance between the driver and the sensor. If the sensor is an ultrasonic-wave-receiving sensor, it could be built to include a transmitter to transmit waves into the passenger compartment whereby the distance between the driver and the sensor is determined from the time between transmission and reception of the same waves. Alternatively, the transmitter could be separate from the wave-receiving sensor or a capacitance sensor. The sensor could also be any existing capacitance or electric field sensor. The sensor may be used to affect the operation of any component in the vehicle which would have a variable operation depending on the position of the occupant. For example, the sensor could be a part of an occupant restraint system including an airbag, crash sensor means for determining that a crash requiring deployment of the airbag is required, and control means coupled to the sensor and the crash sensor means for controlling deployment of the airbag based on the determination that a crash requiring deployment of the airbag is required and the distance between the driver and the sensor (and velocity of the driver). Since the sensor is fixed in relation to the airbag, the distance between the airbag and the driver is determinable from the distance between the sensor and the driver. The control means can suppress deployment of the airbag if the distance between the airbag and the driver is within a threshold, i.e., less than a predetermined safe deployment distance. Also, the control means could modify one or more parameters of deployment of the airbag based on the distance between the sensor and the driver, i.e., the deployment force or time. Further, successive measurements of the distance between the sensor and the driver can be obtained and the velocity of the driver determined therefrom, in which case, the control means can control deployment of the airbag based on the velocity of the driver. To avoid problems if the sensor is blocked, the occupant position sensor system may further comprises a confirming sensor arranged to provide an output signal which varies as a function of the distance between the confirming sensor and the driver of the vehicle. The output signal from this confirming sensor is used to verify the position of the driver relative to the fixed point in the vehicle as determined by the sensor. The confirming sensor can be arranged on an interior side of a roof of the vehicle or on a headliner of the vehicle.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention the space in front of the airbag that can be occupied by an occupant is divided into three zones. The deployment decision is based on taking into account the estimated severity of the crash, the identified size and or weight of the occupant, and the position of occupant or forecasted position of the occupant at the time of airbag deployment. For example, in a high severity crash, a 5% female located in the zone furthest away from the airbag, zone 3, would receive the depowered airbag deployment. On the other hand, a large heavy occupant in a similar crash and at a similar position would receive the high-powered airbag. As a further example a 50% male occupant located in the mid zone, or zone 2, would receive a depowered deployment. For the majority of the cases the zone 3 would call for a high-powered deployment, zone 2 or a depowered deployment and zone 1 for suppression or no deployment.

A further implementation of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein would require that the location of the zones be a function of the severity of the crash. For such a system, the accuracy of the decision can be assessed and the deployment decision modified. For example, if the system determines that the occupant is in the zone 1 but the probability of that decision being true is low, then the system would choose a depowered deployment. Similarly if the system determines that the occupant is in zone 3 but the accuracy of the decision is low, then once again a depowered deployment would be chosen. In this manner, when there is uncertainty as to where the occupant located, the default decision would be for depowered deployment.

Crash sensors now exist which can predict the severity of an accident as disclosed in U.S. 05684701, U.S. 06609053 and U.S. 06532408. Predicting the severity of the accident means that the velocity change of the vehicle passenger compartment can be predicted forward in time. If the occupant is not wearing a seatbelt the velocity of the occupant can also be predicted forward in time and will be approximately the same as the velocity predicted by the crash sensor. If the occupant is wearing a seatbelt then this velocity prediction will be significantly in error. This gives an independent method of determining seatbelt usage. Knowing the usage of the seatbelt can be used to determine whether the airbag should be deployed at all in a marginal crash, whether a depowered airbag should be deployed when a full powered airbag would otherwise the use etc. Knowing seatbelt usage can also be used in the calculation or prediction of the forward motion of the occupant in a crash.

Also disclosed is a steering wheel assembly for a vehicle which comprises a steering wheel, and a sensor arranged in connection therewith and arranged to provide an output signal which varies as a function of the distance between the sensor and the driver of the vehicle. The steering wheel assembly can include an airbag module, the sensor being arranged in connection therewith, e.g., on a cover thereof.

Also disclosed herein is an airbag module for a vehicle which comprises a deployable airbag, a cover overlying the airbag and arranged to be removed or broken upon deployment of the airbag, and a sensor arranged on the cover and which provides an output signal which varies as a function of the distance between the sensor and an object. The sensor may be as described above, e.g., a wave-receiving sensor, including a transmitter, etc.

Another occupant restraint system for a vehicle disclosed herein comprises an airbag module including a deployable airbag, a sensor arranged in connection with the module and which provides an output signal which varies as a function of the distance between the sensor and an object, crash sensor means for determining that a crash requiring deployment of the airbag is required, and control means coupled to the sensor and the crash sensor means for controlling deployment of the airbag based on the determination that a crash requiring deployment of the airbag is required and the distance between the object and the sensor. The control means may suppress deployment of the airbag or modify one or more parameters of deployment of the airbag based on the distance between the sensor and the object. A confirming sensor, as described above, may also be provided.

Another disclosed embodiment of an occupant restraint system for a vehicle comprises a steering wheel assembly including a deployable airbag, a sensor arranged in connection with or incorporated into the steering wheel assembly and which provides an output signal which varies as a function of the distance between the sensor and an object, crash sensor means for determining that a crash requiring deployment of the airbag is required, and control means coupled to the sensor and the crash sensor means for controlling deployment of the airbag based on the determination that a crash requiring deployment of the airbag is required and the distance between the object and the sensor. If the steering wheel assembly includes a cover overlying the airbag and arranged to be removed or broken upon deployment of the airbag, the sensor may be arranged on the cover.

A disclosed method for controlling deployment of an airbag in a vehicle comprises the steps of arranging the airbag in an airbag module, mounting the module in the vehicle, arranging a sensor in connection with the module, the sensor providing an output signal which varies as a function of the distance between the sensor and an object in the vehicle, determining whether a crash of the vehicle requiring deployment of the airbag is occurring or is about to occur, and controlling deployment of the airbag based on the determination of whether a crash of the vehicle requiring deployment of the airbag is occurring or is about to occur and the output signal from the sensor.

Moreover, a method for determining the position of an object in a vehicle including an airbag module comprises the steps of arranging a wave-receiving sensor in connection with the airbag module, and generating an output signal from the sensor representative of the distance between the sensor and the object such that the position of the object is determinable from the distance between the sensor and the object.

Another arrangement for controlling a vehicular component, e.g., an airbag, comprises means for obtaining information or data about an occupying item of a seat, a pattern recognition system for receiving the information or data about the occupying item and analyzing the information or data with respect to size, position, shape and/or motion, and control means for controlling the vehicular component based on the analysis of the information or data with respect to the size, position, shape and/or motion by the pattern recognition system. The control means may be arranged to enable suppression of deployment of the airbag.

Another disclosed method for controlling a vehicular component comprises the steps of obtaining information or data about the position of an occupying item of a seat of the vehicle, providing the information or data to a pattern recognition system, analyzing the information or data about the position of the occupying item in the pattern recognition system, and controlling the vehicular component based on the analysis of the information or data about the position of the occupying item by the pattern recognition system.

The disclosure herein also encompasses a method of disabling an airbag system for a seating position within a motor vehicle. The method comprises the steps of providing to a roof above the seating position one or more electromagnetic wave occupant sensors, detecting presence or absence of an occupant of the seating position using the electromagnetic wave occupant sensor(s), disabling the airbag system if the seating position is unoccupied, detecting proximity of an occupant to the airbag door if the seating position is occupied and disabling the airbag system if the occupant is closer to the airbag door than a predetermined distance. The airbag deployment parameters, e.g., inflation rate and time of deployment, may be modified to adjust inflation of the airbag according to proximity of the occupant to the airbag door. The presence or absence of the occupant can be detected using pattern recognition techniques to process the waves received by the electromagnetic wave-occupant sensor(s).

Also disclosed herein is an apparatus for disabling an airbag system for a seating position within a motor vehicle. The apparatus preferably comprises one or more electromagnetic wave occupant sensors proximate a roof above the seating position, means for detecting presence or absence of an occupant of the seating position using the electromagnetic wave occupant sensor(s), means for disabling the airbag system if the seating position is unoccupied, means for detecting proximity of an occupant to the airbag door if the seating position is occupied and means for disabling the airbag system if the occupant is closer to the airbag door than a predetermined distance. Also, means for modifying airbag deployment parameters to adjust inflation of the airbag according to proximity of the occupant to the airbag door may be provided and may constitute a sensor algorithm resident in a crash sensor and diagnostic circuitry. The means for detecting presence or absence of the occupant may comprise a processor utilizing pattern recognition techniques to process the waves received by the electromagnetic wave-occupant sensor(s).

Also disclosed herein is a motor vehicle airbag system for inflation and deployment of an airbag in front of a passenger in a motor vehicle during a collision. The airbag system comprises an airbag, inflation means connected to the airbag for inflating the same with a gas, passenger sensor means mounted adjacent to the interior roof of the vehicle for continuously sensing the position of a passenger with respect to the passenger compartment and for generating electrical output indicative of the position of the passenger and microprocessor means electrically connected to the passenger sensor means and to the inflation means. The microprocessor means compares and performs an analysis of the electrical output from the passenger sensor means and activates the inflation means to inflate and deploy the airbag when the analysis indicates that the vehicle is involved in a collision and that deployment of the airbag would likely reduce a risk of serious injury to the passenger which would exist absent deployment of the airbag and likely would not present an increased risk of injury to the passenger resulting from deployment of the airbag. In certain embodiments, the passenger sensor means is a means particularly sensitive to the position of the head of the passenger. The microprocessor means may include memory means for storing the positions of the passenger over some interval of time. The passenger sensor means may comprise an array of passenger proximity sensor means for sensing distance from a passenger to each of the passenger proximity sensor means. In this case, the microprocessor means includes means for determining passenger position by determining each of these distances and means for triangulation analysis of the distances from the passenger to each passenger proximity sensor means to determine the position of the passenger.

When the vehicle interior monitoring system in accordance with some embodiments of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein is installed in the passenger compartment of an automotive vehicle equipped with a passenger protective device, such as an inflatable airbag, and the vehicle is subjected to a crash of sufficient severity that the crash sensor has determined that the protective device is to be deployed, the system determines the position of the vehicle occupant relative to the airbag and disables deployment of the airbag if the occupant is positioned so that he/she is likely to be injured by the deployment of the airbag. In the alternative, the parameters of the deployment of the airbag can be tailored to the position of the occupant relative to the airbag, e.g., a depowered deployment.

One method for controlling deployment of an airbag from an airbag module comprising the steps of determining the position of the occupant or a part thereof, and controlling deployment of the airbag based on the determined position of the occupant or part thereof. The position of the occupant or part thereof is determined as in the arrangement described above.

Another method for controlling deployment of an airbag comprises the steps of determining whether an occupant is present in the seat, and controlling deployment of the airbag based on the presence or absence of an occupant in the seat. The presence of the occupant, and optionally position of the occupant or a part thereof, are determined as in the arrangement described above.

Other embodiments disclosed herein are directed to methods and arrangements for controlling deployment of an airbag. One exemplifying embodiment of an arrangement for controlling deployment of an airbag from an airbag module to protect an occupant in a seat of a vehicle in a crash comprises a determining unit for determining the position of the occupant or a part thereof, and a control unit coupled to the determining unit for controlling deployment of the airbag based on the determined position of the occupant or part thereof. The determining unit may comprise a receiver system, e.g., a wave-receiving transducer such as an electromagnetic wave receiver (such as a CCD, CMOS, capacitor plate or antenna) or an ultrasonic transducer, for receiving waves from a space above a seat portion of the seat and a processor coupled to the receiver system for generating a signal representative of the position of the occupant or part thereof based on the waves received by the receiver system. The determining unit can include a transmitter for transmitting waves into the space above the seat portion of the seat which are receivable by the receiver system. The receiver system may be mounted in various positions in the vehicle, including in a door of the vehicle, in which case, the distance between the occupant and the door would be determined, i.e., to determine whether the occupant is leaning against the door, and possibly adjacent the airbag module if it is situated in the door, or elsewhere in the vehicle. The control unit is designed to suppress deployment of the airbag, control the time at which deployment of the airbag starts, control the rate of gas flow into the airbag, control the rate of gas flow out of the airbag and/or control the rate of deployment of the airbag.

Another arrangement for controlling deployment of an airbag comprises a determining unit for determining whether an occupant is present in the seat, and a control unit coupled to the determining unit for controlling deployment of the airbag based on whether an occupant is present in the seat, e.g., to suppress deployment if the seat is unoccupied. The determining unit may comprise a receiver system, e.g., a wave-receiving transducer such as an ultrasonic transducer, CCD, CMOS, capacitor plate, capacitance sensor or antenna, for receiving waves from a space above a seat portion of the seat and a processor coupled to the receiver system for generating a signal representative of the presence or absence of an occupant in the seat based on the waves received by the receiver system. The determining unit may optionally include a transmitter for transmitting waves into the space above the seat portion of the seat which are receivable by the receiver system. Further, the determining unit may be designed to determine the position of the occupant or a part thereof when an occupant is in the seat in which case, the control unit is arranged to control deployment of side airbag based on the determined position of the occupant or part thereof.

A method disclosed herein for controlling deployment of an occupant restraint system in a vehicle comprises the steps of transmitting electromagnetic waves toward an occupant seated in a passenger compartment of the vehicle from one or more locations, obtaining one or more images of the interior of the passenger compartment, each from a respective location, analyzing the images to determine the distance between the occupant and the occupant restraint system, and controlling deployment of the occupant restraint system based on the determined distance between the occupant and the occupant restraint system. The images may be analyzed by comparing data from the images of the interior of the passenger compartment with data from stored images representing different arrangements of objects in the passenger compartment to determine which of the stored images match most closely to the images of the interior of the passenger compartment, each stored image having associated data relating to the distance between the occupant in the image and the occupant restraint system. The image comparison step may entail inputting the images, or features extracted therefrom such as edges, or a form thereof into a neural network which provides for each image of the interior of the passenger compartment, an index of a stored image that most closely matches the image of the interior of the passenger compartment. In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the weight of the occupant on a seat is measured and deployment of the occupant restraint system is controlled based on the determined distance between the occupant and the occupant restraint system and the measured weight of the occupant.

Other embodiments disclosed herein are directed to methods and arrangements for controlling deployment of an airbag. One exemplifying embodiment of an arrangement for controlling deployment of an airbag from an airbag module to protect an occupant in a seat of a vehicle in a crash comprises a determining unit for determining the position of the occupant or a part thereof, and control means coupled to the determining unit for controlling deployment of the airbag based on the determined position of the occupant or part thereof. The determining unit may comprise a receiver system, e.g., a wave-receiving transducer such as an electromagnetic wave receiver (such as a SAW, CCD, CMOS, capacitor plate or antenna) or an ultrasonic transducer, for receiving waves from a space above a seat portion of the seat and a processor coupled to the receiver system for generating a signal representative of the position of the occupant or part thereof based on the waves received by the receiver system. The determining unit can include a transmitter for transmitting waves into the space above the seat portion of the seat which are receivable by the receiver system. The receiver system may be mounted in various positions in the vehicle, including in a door of the vehicle, in which case, the distance between the occupant and the door would be determined, i.e., to determine whether the occupant is leaning against the door, and possibly adjacent the airbag module if it is situated in the door, or elsewhere in the vehicle. The control unit is designed to suppress deployment of the airbag, control the time at which deployment of the airbag starts, control the rate of gas flow into the airbag, control the rate of gas flow out of the airbag, and/or control the rate of deployment of the airbag.

Also in accordance with the invention, an occupant protection device control system comprises a vehicle seat provided for a vehicle occupant and movable relative to a chassis of the vehicle, at least one motor for moving the seat, a processor for controlling the motor(s) to move the seat, a memory unit for retaining an occupant pre-defined seat locations, a memory actuation unit for causing the processor to direct the motor(s) to move the seat to the occupant pre-defined seat location retained in the memory unit, measuring apparatus for measuring at least one morphological characteristic of the occupant, an automatic adjustment system coupled to the processor for positioning the seat based on the morphological characteristic(s) measured by the measuring apparatus (if and when a change in positioning is required), a manual adjustment system coupled to the processor manually operable for permitting movement of the seat and an actuatable occupant protection device for protecting the occupant. The processor is arranged to control actuation of the occupant protection device based on the position of the seat wherein location of the occupant relative to the occupant protection device is related to the position of the seat. This relationship can be determined by approximation and analysis, e.g., obtained during a training and programming stage. More particularly, the processor can be designed to suppress actuation of the occupant protection device when the position of the seat indicates that the occupant is more likely than not to be out-of-position for the actuation of the occupant protection device. Other factors can be considered by the processor when determining actuation of the occupant protection device. When the occupant protection device is an airbag system including airbag and enabling a variable inflation and/or deflation of the airbag, the processor can be designed to determine the inflation and/or deflation of the airbag based on the location of the occupant in view of the relationship between the location of the occupant and the position of the seat, e.g., varying an amount of gas flowing into the airbag during inflation or providing an exit orifice or valve arranged in the airbag and varying the size of the exit orifice or valve. The airbag may have an adjustable deployment direction, in which case, the processor can be designed to determine the deployment direction of the airbag based on the location of the occupant in view of the relationship between the location of the occupant and the position of the seat.

A method for controlling an occupant protection device in a vehicle comprises the steps of acquiring data from at least one sensor relating to an occupant in a seat to be protected by the occupant protection device, classifying the type of occupant based on the acquired data, when the occupant is classified as an empty seat or a rear-facing child seat, disabling or adjusting deployment of the occupant protection device, otherwise classifying the size of the occupant based on the acquired data, determining the position of the occupant by means of one of a plurality of algorithms selected based on the classified size of the occupant using the acquired data, each of the algorithms being applicable for a specific size of occupant, and disabling or adjusting deployment of the occupant protection device when the determined position of the occupant is more likely to result in injury to the occupant if the occupant protection device were to deploy. The algorithms may be pattern recognition algorithms such as neural networks.

The determination of the occupancy state of the seat is performed using at least one pattern recognition algorithm such as a combination neural network.

In order to achieve some objects of the invention, a control system for controlling an occupant restraint device effective for protection of an occupant of the seat comprises a receiving device arranged in the vehicle for obtaining information about contents of the seat and generating a signal based on any contents of the seat, a different signal being generated for different contents of the seat when such contents are present on the seat, an analysis unit such as a microprocessor coupled to the receiving device for analyzing the signal in order to determine whether the contents of the seat include a child seat, whether the contents of the seat include a child seat in a particular orientation and/or whether the contents of the seat include a child seat in a particular position, and a deployment unit coupled to the analysis unit for controlling deployment of the occupant restraint device based on the determination by the analysis unit.

The analysis unit can be programmed to determine whether the contents of the seat include a child seat in a rear-facing position, in a forward-facing position, a rear-facing child seat in an improper orientation, a forward-facing child seat in an improper orientation, and the position of the child seat relative to one or more of the occupant restraint devices.

The receiving device can include a wave transmitter for transmitting waves toward the seat, a wave receiver arranged relative to the wave transmitter for receiving waves reflected from the seat and a processor coupled to the wave receiver for generating the different signal for the different contents of the seat based on the received waves reflected from the seat. The wave receiver can comprise multiple wave receivers spaced apart from one another with the processor being programmed to process the reflected waves from each receiver in order to create respective signals characteristic of the contents of the seat based on the reflected waves. In this case, the analysis unit preferably categorizes the signals using for example a pattern recognition algorithm for recognizing and thus identifying the contents of the seat by processing the signals based on the reflected waves from the contents of the seat into a categorization of the signals characteristic of the contents of the seat.

15.2a Crash Sensing and Rear Impacts

In order to achieve at least one of the above-listed objects, a vehicle in accordance with the invention comprises a seat including a movable headrest against which an occupant can rest his or her head, an anticipatory crash sensor arranged to detect an impending crash involving the vehicle based on data obtained prior to the crash, and a movement mechanism coupled to the crash sensor and the headrest and arranged to move the headrest upon detection of an impending crash involving the vehicle by the crash sensor.

The crash sensor may be arranged to produce an output signal when an object external from the vehicle is approaching the vehicle at a velocity above a design threshold velocity. The crash sensor may be any type of sensor designed to provide an assessment or determination of an impending impact prior to the impact, i.e., from data obtained prior to the impact. Thus, the crash sensor can be an ultrasonic sensor, an electromagnetic wave sensor, a radar sensor, a noise radar sensor and a camera, a scanning laser radar and a passive infrared sensor.

To optimize the assessment of an impending crash, the crash sensor can be designed to determine the distance from the vehicle to an external object whereby the velocity of the external object can be calculated from successive distance measurements. To this end, the crash sensor can employ means for measuring time of flight of a pulse, means for measuring a phase change, means for measuring a Doppler radar pulse and means for performing range gating of an ultrasonic pulse, an optical pulse or a radar pulse.

To further optimize the assessment, the crash sensor may comprise pattern recognition means for recognizing, identifying or ascertaining the identity of external objects. The pattern recognition means may comprise a neural network, fuzzy logic, fuzzy system, neural-fuzzy system, sensor fusion and other types of pattern recognition systems.

The movement mechanism may be arranged to move the headrest from an initial position to a position more proximate to the head of the occupant.

Optionally, a determining system determines the location of the head of the occupant in which case, the movement mechanism may move the headrest from an initial position to a position more proximate to the determined location of the head of the occupant. The determining system can include a wave-receiving sensor arranged to receive waves from a direction of the head of the occupant. More particularly, the determining system can comprise a transmitter for transmitting radiation to illuminate different portions of the head of the occupant, a receiver for receiving a first set of signals representative of radiation reflected from the different portions of the head of the occupant and providing a second set of signals representative of the distances from the headrest to the nearest illuminated portion the head of the occupant, and a processor comprising computational means to determine the headrest vertical location corresponding to the nearest part of the head to the headrest from the second set of signals from the receiver. The transmitter and receiver may be arranged in the headrest.

The head position determining system can be designed to use waves, energy, radiation or other properties or phenomena. Thus, the determining system may include an electric field sensor, a capacitance sensor, a radar sensor, an optical sensor, a camera, a three-dimensional camera, a passive infrared sensor, an ultrasound sensor, a stereo sensor, a focusing sensor and a scanning system.

A processor may be coupled to the crash sensor and the movement mechanism and determines the motion required of the headrest to place the headrest proximate to the head. The processor then provides the motion determination to the movement mechanism upon detection of an impending crash involving the vehicle by the crash sensor. This is particularly helpful when a system for determining the location of the head of the occupant relative to the headrest is provided in which case, the determining system is coupled to the processor to provide the determined head location.

A method for protecting an occupant of a vehicle during a crash in accordance with the invention comprises the steps of detecting an impending crash involving the vehicle based on data obtained prior to the crash and moving a headrest upon detection of an impending crash involving the vehicle to a position more proximate to the occupant. Detection of the crash may entail determining the velocity of an external object approaching the vehicle and producing a crash signal when the object is approaching the vehicle at a velocity above a design threshold velocity.

Optionally, the location of the head of the occupant is determined in which case, the headrest is moved from an initial position to the position more proximate to the determined location of the head of the occupant.

If the system in the vehicle is an occupant restraint device, the additional neural networks can be designed to determine a recommendation of a suppression of deployment of the occupant restraint device, a depowered deployment of the occupant restraint device or a full power deployment of the occupant restraint device.

Conventionally, for a driver, the airbag is situated in a module mounted on the steering wheel or incorporated into the steering wheel assembly. In accordance with the invention, the sensor which determines the position of the occupant relative to the airbag, and which also enables the velocity of the occupant to be determined in some embodiments, is positioned on the steering wheel or its assembly or on the airbag module. The sensor may be formed as a part of the airbag module or separately and then attached thereto. Similarly, the sensor may be formed as a part of the steering wheel or steering wheel assembly or separately and then attached thereto.

The placement of the position (and velocity) sensor on the steering wheel or its assembly or on the airbag module provides an extremely precise and direct measurement of the distance between the occupant and the airbag (assuming the airbag is arranged in connection with the steering wheel). Obviously, this positioning of the sensor is for use with a driver airbag. For the passenger, the placement of the position (and velocity) sensor on or adjacent and in connection with the airbag module provides a similarly extremely precise and direct measurement of the distance between the passenger and the airbag.

The position of the occupant could be continuously or periodically determined and stored in memory so that instead of determining the position of the occupant(s) after the sensor system determines that the airbag is to be deployed, the most recently stored position is used when the crash sensor has determined that deployment of the airbag is necessary. In other words, the determination of the position of the occupant could precede (or even occur simultaneous with) the determination that the deployment of airbag is desired. Naturally, as discussed below, the addition of an occupant position and velocity sensor onto a vehicle leads to other possibilities such as the monitoring of the driver's behavior which can be used to warn a driver if he or she is falling asleep, or to stop the vehicle if the driver loses the capacity to control the vehicle. In fact, the motion of the occupant provides valuable data to an appropriate pattern recognition system to differentiate an animate from an inanimate occupying item.

15.3 Adapting the System to a Vehicle Model

To achieve one or more of the above objects, a method for generating a neural network for determining the position of an object in a vehicle comprises the steps of conducting a plurality of data generation steps, each data generating step involving placing an object in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, directing waves into at least a portion of the passenger compartment in which the object is situated, receiving reflected waves from the object at a receiver, forming a data set of a signal representative of the reflected waves from the object, the distance from the object to the receiver and the temperature of the passenger compartment between the object and the receiver and changing the temperature of the air between the object and the receiver. This sequence of steps is performed for the object at different temperatures between the object and the receiver. A pattern recognition algorithm is generated from the data sets such that upon operational input of a signal representative of reflected waves from the object, the algorithm provides an approximation of the distance from the object to the receiver. The algorithm may be a neural network. The waves may be ultrasonic waves or electromagnetic waves or other waves possessing the required properties for operation of the invention.

The sequence of steps may also include placing different objects in the passenger compartment and then performing the sequence of steps for the different objects. In this case, the identity of the object is included in the data set such that upon operational input of a signal representative of reflected waves from the object, the algorithm provides an approximation of the identity of the object.

The sequence of steps may also include placing the different objects in different positions in the passenger compartment and then performing the sequence of steps for the different objects in the different positions. In this case, the identity and/or position of the object are included in the data set such that upon operational input of a signal representative of reflected waves from the object, the algorithm provides an approximation of the identity and/or position of the object.

The temperature may be changed dynamically by introducing a flow of blowing air at a different temperature than the ambient temperature of the passenger compartment. The flow of blowing air may be created by operating a vehicle heater or air conditioner of the vehicle. In the alternative, the temperature of the air may be changed by creating a temperature gradient between a top and a bottom of the passenger compartment.

Disclosed herein is a system for determining the occupancy state of a seat which comprises a plurality of transducers arranged in the vehicle, each transducer providing data relating to the occupancy state of the seat, and a processor or a processing unit (e.g., a microprocessor) coupled to the transducers for receiving the data from the transducers and processing the data to obtain an output indicative of the current occupancy state of the seat. The processor comprises a combination neural network algorithm created from a plurality of data sets, each representing a different occupancy state of the seat and being formed from data from the transducers while the seat is in that occupancy state. The combination neural network algorithm discussed herein produces the output indicative of the current occupancy state of the seat upon inputting a data set representing the current occupancy state of the seat and being formed from data from the transducers. The algorithm may be a pattern recognition algorithm or neural network algorithm generated by a combination neural network algorithm-generating program.

The processor may be arranged to accept only a separate stream of data from each transducer such that the stream of data from each transducer is passed to the processor without combining with another stream of data. Further, the processor may be arranged to process each separate stream of data independent of the processing of the other streams of data.

The transducers may be selected from a wide variety of different sensors, all of which are affected by the occupancy state of the seat. That is, different combinations of known sensors can be utilized in the many variations of the invention. For example, the sensors used in the invention may include a weight sensor arranged in the seat, a reclining angle detecting sensor for detecting a tilt angle of the seat between a back portion of the seat and a seat portion of the seat, a seat position sensor for detecting the position of the seat relative to a fixed reference point in the vehicle, a heartbeat sensor for sensing a heartbeat of an occupying item of the seat, a capacitive sensor, an electric field sensor, a seat belt buckle sensor, a seatbelt payout sensor, an infrared sensor, an inductive sensor, a motion sensor, a chemical sensor such as a carbon dioxide sensor and a radar sensor. The same type of sensor could also be used, preferably situated in a different location, but possibly in the same location for redundancy purposes. For example, the system may include a plurality of weight sensors, each measuring the weight applied onto the seat at a different location. Such weight sensors may include a weight sensor, such as a strain gage or bladder, arranged to measure displacement of a surface of a seat portion of the seat and/or a strain, force or pressure gage arranged to measure displacement of the entire seat. In the latter case, the seat includes a support structure for supporting the seat above a floor of a passenger compartment of the vehicle whereby the strain gage can be attached to the support structure.

In some embodiments, the transducers include a plurality of electromagnetic wave sensors capable of receiving waves at least from a space above the seat, each electromagnetic wave sensor being arranged at a different location. Other wave or field sensors such as capacitive or electric field sensors can also be used.

In other embodiments, the transducers include at least two ultrasonic sensors capable of receiving waves at least from a space above the seat bottom, each ultrasonic sensor being arranged at a different location. For example, one sensor is arranged on a ceiling of the vehicle and the other is arranged at a different location in the vehicle, preferably so that an axis connecting the sensors is substantially parallel to a second axis traversing a volume in the vehicle above the seat. The second sensor may be arranged on a dashboard or instrument panel of the vehicle. A third ultrasonic sensor can be arranged on an interior side surface of the passenger compartment while a fourth can be arranged on or adjacent an interior side surface of the passenger compartment. The ultrasonic sensors are capable of transmitting waves at least into the space above the seat. Further, the ultrasonic sensors are preferably aimed such that the ultrasonic fields generated thereby cover a substantial portion of the volume surrounding the seat. Horns or grills may be provided for adjusting the transducer field angles of the ultrasonic sensors to reduce reflections off of fixed surfaces within the vehicle or otherwise control the shape of the ultrasonic field. Other types of sensors can of course be placed at the same or other locations.

The actual location or choice of the sensors can be determined by placing a significant number of sensors in the vehicle and removing those sensors which prove analytically to add little to system accuracy.

The ultrasonic sensors can have different transmitting and receiving frequencies and be arranged in the vehicle such that sensors having adjacent transmitting and receiving frequencies are not within a direct ultrasonic field of each other.

Another the system for determining the occupancy state of a seat in a vehicle includes a plurality of transducers arranged in the vehicle, each providing data relating to the occupancy state of the seat, and a processor coupled to the transducers for receiving only a separate stream of data from each transducer (such that the stream of data from each transducer is passed to the processor without combining with another stream of data) and processing the streams of data to obtain an output indicative of the current occupancy state of the seat. The processor comprises an algorithm created from a plurality of data sets, each representing a different occupancy state of the seat and being formed from separate streams of data, each only from one transducer, while the seat is in that occupancy state. The algorithm produces the output indicative of the current occupancy state of the seat upon inputting a data set representing the current occupancy state of the seat and being formed from separate streams of data, each only from one transducer. The processor preferably processes each separate stream of data independent of the processing of the other streams of data.

In still another embodiment of the invention, the system includes a plurality of transducers arranged in the vehicle, each providing data relating to the occupancy state of the seat, and which include wave-receiving transducers and/or non-wave-receiving transducers. The system also includes a processor coupled to the transducers for receiving the data from the transducers and processing the data to obtain an output indicative of the current occupancy state of the seat. The processor comprises an algorithm created from a plurality of data sets, each representing a different occupancy state of the seat and being formed from data from the transducers while the seat is in that occupancy state. The algorithm produces the output indicative of the current occupancy state of the seat upon inputting a data set representing the current occupancy state of the seat and being formed from data from the transducers.

In some of the embodiments of the invention described herein, a combination or combinational neural network is used. The particular combination neural network can be determined by a process in which a number of neural network modules are combined in a parallel and a serial manner and an optimization program can be utilized to determine the best combination of such neural networks to achieve the highest accuracy. Alternately, the optimization process can be undertaken manually in a trial and error manner. In this manner, the optimum combination of neural networks is selected to solve the particular pattern recognition and categorization objective desired.

15.4 Component Adjustment

To achieve at least one of the above objects, an apparatus for adjusting a steering wheel extending from a front console of a vehicle includes at least one motor coupled to the steering column or steering wheel and which is at least automatically controllable without manual intervention to adjust the steering wheel relative to the front console, a system for determining at least one morphological characteristic of a driver and a control circuit coupled to the system and the motor(s) for automatically controlling the motor(s) based on the morphological characteristic(s). In this manner, the position of the steering wheel can be adjusted for each driver and can be changed when the driver of the vehicle varies between sequential uses.

One motor may be arranged to adjust the longitudinal position of the steering wheel, possibly by being coupled to the steering column and/or steering wheel. Another may be arranged on the steering column to adjust the tilt angle of the steering wheel.

In addition to the morphology of the driver, the location of the driver can be determined and used to automatically position the steering wheel since the location of the driver will usually affect a comfortable position of the steering wheel for the driver. In this case, the control circuit is coupled to a location determining system and thus automatically controls the motor(s) based on the determined location of the driver as well as the driver's morphology.

The system for determining a morphological characteristic of the driver may comprise one or more measurement mechanisms for measuring a morphological characteristic of the driver. The control circuit may include a processor for determining an optimum position of the steering wheel based on the measured morphological characteristic(s) and providing a signal to the motor(s) to adjust to adjust the steering wheel to the optimum position. The morphological characteristic may be the weight of the driver, the height of the driver from a bottom of a seat, the length of the driver's arms, the length of the driver's legs and the inclination of the driver's back relative to a seat.

A vehicle including the steering wheel adjustment system is also contemplated which would include a front console, a steering column extending from the front console, a steering wheel arranged on the steering column, at least one motor automatically controllable without manual intervention to adjust the steering wheel relative to the front console, a system for determining at least one morphological characteristic of a driver and a control circuit coupled to the system and the motor(s) for automatically controlling the motor(s) based on the morphological characteristic(s) determined by the system.

A method in accordance with the invention for adjusting a steering wheel mounted on a steering column extending from a front console of a vehicle comprises the steps of providing at least one motor capable of adjusting the position of the steering wheel, determining at least one morphological characteristic of a driver, and automatically controlling the at least one motor based on the at least one morphological characteristic and without manual intervention to adjust the steering wheel relative to the front console. The same design options for the apparatus and vehicle described above may be applied in the method in accordance with the invention.

Another way to view the invention would be to consider steering wheel adjustment based on the determined occupancy state of the vehicle. In this case, an arrangement for automatically adjusting a steering wheel in a vehicle comprises a seated-state evaluating system for evaluating the seated-state of a driver's seat in the vehicle, a processor coupled to the evaluating system and including a table of settings for positions of the steering wheel based on seated-states of the driver's seat, and at least one motor for adjusting the steering wheel. The evaluating system operatively determines the seated-state of the driver's seat, and the processor obtains a setting for the position of the steering wheel for the operatively determined seated-state of the driver and controls the motor(s) to adjust the steering wheel to the position setting.

The evaluating system may comprise any number of sensors, such as measurement apparatus for measuring at least one morphological characteristic of the driver, one or more wave-receiving sensors which receive waves from the space in which the driver is likely situated, at least one capacitance sensor for detecting variations in capacitance based on the occupant of the driver's seat, at least one electric field sensor for detecting variation in an electric field in the space in which the driver is likely situated, pressure or weight measuring means for measuring the pressure or weight applied to the driver's seat, height measuring means for measuring the height of the driver from a bottom of the seat, a seat track position detecting sensor for determining the position of a seat track of the seat and a reclining angle detecting sensor for determining the reclining angle of a seat back of the seat. Thus, generally, the evaluating system comprises a plurality of sensors each providing information about the driver or about the driver's seat. A processor may be coupled to the sensors for receiving the information about the driver or the driver's seat and determine the seated-state of the driver's seat based thereon. The processor may embody a neural network or other type of trained pattern recognition system.

A related method for automatically adjusting a steering wheel in a vehicle comprises the steps of creating a table of settings for positions of the steering wheel based on seated-states of the driver's seat, determining the seated-state of a driver's seat in the vehicle, obtaining a setting for the position of the steering wheel from the table based on the determined seated-state of the driver's seat, providing at least one motor for adjusting the steering wheel, and controlling the motor(s) to adjust the steering wheel to the setting obtained from the table. The same design options for the arrangement discussed above may be used in methods in accordance with the invention as well.

In addition, a change in status of the driver's seat from an unoccupied state to an occupied state may be detected and the seated-state of the driver's seat determined upon detection of such a change.

Furthermore, disclosed herein are methods for controlling a system in the vehicle based on an occupying item in which at least a portion of the passenger compartment in which the occupying item is situated is irradiated, radiation from the occupying item are received, e.g., by a plurality of sensors or transducers each arranged at a discrete location, the received radiation is processed by a processor in order to create one or more electronic signals characteristic of the occupying item based on the received radiation, each signal containing a pattern representative and/or characteristic of the occupying item and each signal is then categorized by utilizing pattern recognition techniques for recognizing and thus identifying the class of the occupying item. In the pattern recognition process, each signal is processed into a categorization thereof based on data corresponding to patterns of received radiation stored within the pattern recognition system and associated with possible classes of occupying items of the vehicle. Once the signal(s) is/are categorized, the operation of the system in the vehicle may be affected based on the categorization of the signal(s), and thus based on the occupying item. If the system in the vehicle is a vehicle communication system, then an output representative of the number of occupants and/or their health or injury state in the vehicle may be produced based on the categorization of the signal(s) and the vehicle communication system thus controlled based on such output. Similarly, if the system in the vehicle is a vehicle entertainment system or heating and air conditioning system, then an output representative of specific seat occupancy may be produced based on the categorization of the signal(s) and the vehicle entertainment system or heating and air conditioning system thus controlled based on such output. In one embodiment designed to ensure safe operation of the vehicle, the attentiveness of the occupying item is determined from the signal(s) if the occupying item is an occupant, and in addition to affecting the system in the vehicle based on the categorization of the signal, the system in the vehicle is affected based on the determined attentiveness of the occupant.

Another method for controlling a vehicular component is also disclosed herein and comprises the steps of obtaining information or data about an occupying item of a seat of the vehicle, providing the information or data about the occupying item to a pattern recognition system, analyzing the information or data about the occupying item with respect to size, position, shape and/or motion in the pattern recognition system, and controlling the vehicular component based on the analysis of the information or data about the occupying item by the pattern recognition system. If the vehicular component is an airbag, then control thereof may entail enabling suppression of deployment of the airbag.

The adjustment system and method for adjusting a component of a vehicle based on the presence of an object on a seat include a wave-receiving sensor as described immediately above, weight measuring means as described above, adjustment means arranged in connection with the component for adjusting the component, and processor means for receiving the outputs from the wave-receiving sensor and the weight measuring means and for evaluating the seated-state of the seat based thereon to determine whether the seat is occupied by an object and when the seat is occupied by an object, to ascertain the identity of the object in the seat based on the outputs from the wave-receiving sensor and the weight measuring means. The processor means also direct the adjustment means to adjust the component based at least on the identity of the object.

If the component is an airbag system, the processor means may be designed to direct the adjustment means to suppress deployment of the airbag when the object is identified as an object for which deployment of the airbag is unnecessary or would be more likely to harm the object than protect the object, depowering the deployment of the airbag or affect any deployment parameter, e.g., the inflation rate, deflation rate, number of deploying airbags, deployment rate, etc. Thus, the component may be a valve for regulating the flow of gas into or out of an airbag.

The component adjustment system and methods in accordance with the invention automatically and passively adjust the component based on the morphology of the occupant of the seat, e.g., characteristics or properties of the driver when the component is a component which is used for driving the vehicle such as the steering wheel. As noted above, the adjustment system may include the seated-state detecting unit described above so that it will be activated if the seated-state detecting unit detects that an adult or child occupant is seated on the seat, i.e., the adjustment system will not operate if the seat is occupied by a child seat, pet or inanimate objects. Obviously, the same system can be used for any seat in the vehicle including the driver seat and the passenger seat(s). This adjustment system may incorporate the same components as the seated-state detecting unit described above, i.e., the same components may constitute a part of both the seated-state detecting unit and the adjustment system, e.g., the weight measuring means.

An arrangement for controlling deployment of a component in a vehicle in combination with the vehicle in accordance with the invention comprises measurement apparatus for measuring at least one morphological characteristic of an occupant, a processor coupled to the measurement apparatus for determining a new seat position based on the morphological characteristic(s) of the occupant, an adjustment system for adjusting the seat to the new seat position and a control unit coupled to the measurement apparatus and processor for controlling the component based on the measured morphological characteristic(s) of the occupant and the new seat position. The component could be a deployable occupant restraint device whereby the deployment of the occupant restraint device is controlled by the control unit. The processor may comprise a control circuit or module and can be arranged to determine a new position of a bottom portion and/or back portion of the seat. The adjustment system may comprise one or more motors for moving the seat or a portion thereof.

A method for controlling a component in a vehicle comprises the steps of measuring at least one morphological characteristic of an occupant, obtaining a current position of at least a part of a seat on which the occupant is situated, for example the bottom portion and/or the back portion, and controlling the component based on the measured morphological characteristic(s) of the occupant and the current position of the seat. The morphological characteristic could be the height of the occupant (measured from the top surface of the seat bottom), the weight of the occupant, etc.

One preferred embodiment of an adjustment system in accordance with the invention includes a plurality of wave-receiving sensors for receiving waves from the seat and its contents, if any, and one or more seat pressure or weight sensors for detecting pressure applied by or weight of an occupant in the seat or an absence of pressure or weight applied onto the seat indicative of a vacant seat. The pressure or weight sensing apparatus may include strain sensors mounted on or associated with the seat structure such that the strain measuring elements respond to the magnitude of the weight of the occupying item and the pressure applied thereby to the seat. The apparatus also includes a processor for receiving the output of the wave-receiving sensors and the pressure or weight sensor(s) and for processing the outputs to evaluate a seated-state based on the outputs. The processor then adjusts a part of the component or the component in its entirety based at least on the evaluation of the seated-state of the seat. The wave-receiving sensors may be ultrasonic sensors, optical sensors or electromagnetic sensors. If the wave-receiving sensors are ultrasonic or optical sensors, then they may also include a transmitter for transmitting ultrasonic or optical waves toward the seat. If the component is a seat, the system includes a power unit for moving at least one portion of the seat relative to the passenger compartment and a control unit connected to the power unit for controlling the power unit to move the portion(s) of the seat. In this case, the processor may direct the control unit to affect the power unit based at least in part on the evaluation of the seated-state of the seat. With respect to the direction or regulation of the control unit by the processor, this may take the form of a regulation signal to the control unit that no seat adjustment is needed, e.g., if the seat is occupied by a bag of groceries or a child seat in a rear or forward-facing position as determined by the evaluation of the output from the ultrasonic or optical and weight sensors. On the other hand, if the processor determines that the seat is occupied by an adult or child for which adjustment of the seat is beneficial or desired, then the processor may direct the control unit to affect the power unit accordingly. For example, if a child is detected on the seat, the processor may be designed to lower the headrest. In certain embodiments, the apparatus may include one or more sensors each of which measures a morphological characteristic of the occupying item of the seat, e.g., the height or weight of the occupying item, and the processor is arranged to obtain the input from these sensors and adjust the component accordingly. Thus, once the processor evaluates the occupancy of the seat and determines that the occupancy is by an adult or child, then the processor may additionally use either the obtained weight measurement or conduct additional measurements of morphological characteristics of the adult or child occupant and adjust the component accordingly. The processor may be a single microprocessor for performing all of the functions described above. In the alternative, one microprocessor may be used for evaluating the occupancy of the seat and another for adjusting the component. The processor may comprise an evaluation circuit implemented in hardware as an electronic circuit or in software as a computer program. In certain embodiments, a correlation function or state between the output of the various sensors and the desired result (i.e., seat occupancy identification and categorization) is determined, e.g., by a neural network that may be implemented in hardware as a neural computer or in software as a computer program. The correlation function or state that is determined by employing this neural network may also be contained in a microcomputer. In this case, the microcomputer can be employed as an evaluation circuit. The word circuit herein will be used to mean both an electronic circuit and the functional equivalent implemented on a microcomputer using software. In enhanced embodiments, a heartbeat sensor may be provided for detecting the heartbeat of the occupant and generating an output representative thereof. The processor additionally receives this output and evaluates the seated-state of the seat based in part thereon. In addition to or instead of such a heartbeat sensor, a capacitive sensor and/or a motion sensor may be provided. The capacitive sensor detects the presence of the occupant and generates an output representative of the presence of the occupant. The motion sensor detects movement of the occupant and generates an output representative thereof. These outputs are provided to the processor for possible use in the evaluation of the seated-state of the seat.

Also disclosed herein is an arrangement for controlling a component in a vehicle in combination with the vehicle which comprises measurement apparatus for measuring at least one morphological characteristic of an occupant, a determination circuit or system for obtaining a current position of at least a part of a seat on which the occupant is situated, and a control unit coupled to the measurement apparatus and the determination system for controlling the component based on the measured morphological characteristic(s) of the occupant and the current position of the seat. The component may be an occupant restraint device such as an airbag whereby the control unit could control inflation and/or deflation of the airbag, e.g., the flow of gas into and/or out of the airbag, and/or the direction of deployment of the airbag. The component could also be a brake pedal, an acceleration pedal, a rear-view mirror, a side mirror and a steering wheel. The measurement apparatus might measure a plurality of morphological characteristics of the occupant, possibly including the height of the occupant by means of a height sensor arranged in the seat, and the weight of the occupant.

A seat adjustment system can be provided, e.g., motors or actuators connected to various portions of the seat, and a memory unit in which the current position of the seat is stored. The adjustment system is coupled to the memory unit such that an adjusted position of the seat is stored in the memory unit. A processor is coupled to the measurement apparatus for determining an adjusted position of the seat for the occupant based on the measured morphological characteristic(s). The adjustment system is coupled to the processor such that the processor directs the adjustment system to move the seat to the determined adjusted position of the seat. The determination system may comprise a circuit, assembly or system for determining a current position of a bottom portion of the seat and/or a current position of a back portion of the seat.

In addition to a security system, the individual recognition system can be used to control vehicular components, such as the mirrors, the seat, the anchorage point of the seatbelt, the airbag deployment parameters including inflation rate and pressure, inflation direction, deflation rate, time of inflation, the headrest, the steering wheel, the pedals, the entertainment system and the air-conditioning/ventilation system. In this case, the system includes a control unit coupled to the component for affecting the component based on the indication from the pattern recognition algorithm whether the person is the individual.

A vehicle including a system for obtaining information about an object in the vehicle, comprises at least one resonator or reflector arranged in association with the object, each resonator emitting an energy signal upon receipt of a signal at an excitation frequency, a transmitter device for transmitting signals at least at the excitation frequency of each resonator, an energy signal detector for detecting the energy signal emitted by each resonator upon receipt of the signal at the excitation frequency, and a processor coupled to the detector for obtaining information about the object upon analysis of the energy signal detected by the detector.

The information obtained about the object may be a distance between each resonator and the detector, which positional information is useful for controlling components in the vehicle such as the occupant restraint or protection device.

If the object is a seat, the information obtained about the seat may be an indication of the position of the seat, the position of the back cushion of the seat, the position of the bottom cushion of the seat, the angular orientation of the seat, and other seat parameters.

The resonator(s) may be arranged within the object and may be a SAW device, antenna and/or RFID tag. When several resonators are used, each may be designed to emit an energy signal upon receipt of a signal at a different excitation frequency. The resonators may be tuned resonators including an acoustic cavity or a vibrating mechanical element.

In another embodiment, the vehicle comprises at least one reflector arranged in association with the object and arranged to reflect an energy signal, a transmitter for transmitting energy signals in a direction of each of reflector, an energy signal detector for detecting energy signals reflected by the reflector(s), and a processor coupled to the detector for obtaining information about the object upon analysis of the energy signal detected by the detector. The reflector may be a parabolic-shaped reflector, a corner cube reflector, a cube array reflector, an antenna reflector and other types of reflector or reflective devices. The transmitter may be an infrared laser system in which case, the reflector comprises an optical mirror.

The information obtained about the object may be a distance between each reflector and the detector, which positional information is useful for controlling components in the vehicle such as the occupant restraint or protection device. If the object is a seat, the information obtained about the seat may be an indication of the position of the seat, the position of the back cushion of the seat, the position of the bottom cushion of the seat, the angular orientation of the seat, and other seat parameters. If the object is a seatbelt, the information obtained about the seatbelt may be an indication of whether the seatbelt is in use and/or the position of the seatbelt. If the object is a child seat, the information obtained about the child seat may be whether the child seat is present and whether the child seat is rear-facing, front-facing, etc. If the object is a window of the vehicle, the information obtained about the window may be an indication of whether the window is open or closed, or the state of openness. If the object is a door, a reflector may be arranged in a surface facing the door such that closure of the door prevents reflection of the energy signal from the reflector, whereby the information obtained about the door is an indication of whether the door is open or closed.

Another embodiment of a motor vehicle detection system to achieve some of the above-listed objects comprises at least one transmitter for transmitting energy signals toward a target in a passenger compartment of the vehicle, at least one reflector arranged in association with the target, and at least one detector for detecting energy signals reflected by the reflector(s). A processor is optionally coupled to the detector(s) for obtaining information about the target upon analysis of the energy signal detected by the detector(s).

A system for obtaining information about an object in the vehicle comprises at least one resonator arranged in association with the object and which emits an energy signal upon receipt of a signal at an excitation frequency, a transmitter for transmitting signals at least at the excitation frequency of each resonator, an energy signal detector device for detecting the energy signal emitted by the resonator(s) upon receipt of the signal at the excitation frequency and a processor coupled to the detector device for obtaining information about the object upon analysis of the energy signal detected by the detector device. The information obtained about the object may be a distance between each resonator and the detector device or an indication of the position of the seat.

The resonator may comprise a tuned resonator including an acoustic cavity or a vibrating mechanical element. When multiple resonators are used, each resonator is preferably designed to emit an energy signal upon receipt of a signal at a different excitation frequency.

If the object is a seatbelt, the information obtained about the seatbelt may be an indication of whether the seatbelt is in use and/or an indication of the position of the seatbelt.

If the object is a child seat, the information obtained about the child seat may be an indication of the orientation of the child seat and/or an indication of the position of the child seat.

If the object is a window of the vehicle, the information obtained about the window may be an indication of whether the window is open or closed.

If the object is a door, the resonator is arranged in a surface facing the door such that closure of the door prevents emission of the energy signal therefrom, in which case, the information obtained about the door is an indication of whether the door is open or closed.

An arrangement for controlling a component in a vehicle based on contents of a passenger compartment of the vehicle comprises at least one wave-receiving sensor arranged to receive waves from the passenger compartment, a processing circuit coupled to the wave-receiving sensor(s) and arranged to remove at least one portion of each wave received by the sensor(s) in a discrete period of time to thereby form a shortened returned wave, and a processor coupled to the processing circuit and arranged to receive data derived from the shortened returned waves formed by the processing circuit. The processor generates a control signal to control the component based on the data derived from the shortened returned waves formed by the processing circuit.

The portion of the wave which is removed may be an initial wave portion starting from the beginning of the time period and/or an end wave portion at the end of the time period.

When multiple sensors are provided, a sensor driver circuit may be coupled to the sensors for driving the wave-receiving sensors and a multiplex circuit coupled to the sensors for processing the waves received by the wave-receiving sensors. The multiplex circuit is switched in synchronization with a timing signal from the driver circuit.

A band pass filter may be interposed between the sensor and the processing circuit for filtering waves at particular frequencies and noise from the waves received by the at least one wave-receiving sensor. An amplifier may be coupled to the band pass filter to amplify the waves provided by the band pass filter and an analog to digital converter (ADC) may be interposed between the amplifier and the processing circuit for removing a high frequency carrier wave component and generating an envelope wave signal.

Another arrangement for controlling a component in a vehicle based on contents of a passenger compartment of the vehicle comprises a generating device for generating a succession of time windows, a receiving device for receiving waves from the passenger compartment during the time windows, a processing circuit coupled to the receiving device and arranged to remove at least one portion of each wave received by the receiving device in each time window to thereby form a shortened wave, and a processor coupled to the processing circuit and arranged to receive data derived from the shortened waves formed by the processing circuit. The processor generates a control signal to control the component based on the data derived from the shortened waves formed by the processing circuit. The same variations of the above-described arrangement may be used for this arrangement as well.

A method for controlling a component in a vehicle based on contents of a passenger compartment of the vehicle in accordance with the invention comprises the steps of receiving waves from the passenger compartment, removing at least one portion of each received wave in a discrete period of time to thereby form a shortened wave, deriving data from the shortened waves, and generating a control signal to control the component based on the data derived from the shortened waves. The variations of the above-described arrangement may be used for this method as well.

Another method for controlling a component in a vehicle based on contents of a passenger compartment of the vehicle comprises the steps of generating a succession of time windows, receiving waves from the passenger compartment during the time windows, removing at least one portion of each received wave in each time window to thereby form a shortened wave, deriving data from the shortened waves, and generating a control signal to control the component based on the data derived from the shortened waves. The variations of the above-described arrangement may be used for this method as well.

A method for generating an algorithm capable of determining occupancy of a seat in accordance with the invention comprises the steps of mounting a plurality of wave-receiving sensors in the vehicle, obtaining data from the sensors while the seat has a particular occupancy, forming a vector from the data from the sensors obtained while the seat has a particular occupancy, repeatedly changing the occupancy of the seat and for each occupancy, repeating the steps of obtaining data from the sensors and forming a vector from the data, modifying the vectors by removing at least one portion of the wave received by each sensor during a discrete period of time, and generating the algorithm based on the modified vectors such that upon input from the sensors, the algorithm is capable of outputting a likely occupancy of the seat. The modified vectors may be normalized prior to generation of the algorithm.

The modified vectors may be input into a compression circuit that reduces the magnitude of reflected signals from high reflectivity targets compared to those of low reflectivity. Further, a time gain circuit may be applied to the modified vectors to compensate for the difference in sonic strength received by the sensors based on the distance of the reflecting object from the sensor.

Modification of the vectors may entail removing an initial portion of the wave during the time period and/or removing an end portion of the wave during the time period.

The data may be obtained from sensors other than wave-receiving sensors including weight sensors, weight distribution sensors, seatbelt buckle sensors, etc.

Another method for controlling a component in a vehicle comprises the steps of acquiring data from at least one sensor relating to an occupant of a seat interacting with or using the component, identifying the occupant based on the acquired data, determining the position of the occupant based on the acquired data, controlling the component based on at least one of the identification of the occupant and the determined position of the occupant, periodically acquiring new data from the at least one sensor, and for each time new data is acquired, identifying the occupant based on the acquired new data and an identification from a preceding time and determining the position of the occupant based on the acquired new data and then controlling the component based on at least one of the identification of the occupant and the determined position of the occupant. This also involves use of a feedback loop.

Determination of the position of the occupant based on the acquired new data may entail considering a determination of the position of the occupant from the preceding time.

Identification of the occupant based on the acquired data may entail using data from a first subset of the plurality of sensors whereas the determination of the position of the occupant based on the acquired data may entail using data from a second subset of the plurality of sensors different than the first subset.

Identification of the occupant based on the acquired data and the determination of the position of the occupant based on the acquired data may be performed using pattern recognition algorithms such as a combination neural network.

Another method for controlling a component in a vehicle may comprise the steps of acquiring data from at least one sensor relating to an occupant of a seat interacting with or using the component, identifying an occupant based on the acquired data, determining the position of the occupant based on the acquired data, controlling the component based on at least one of the identification of the occupant and the determined position of the occupant, periodically acquiring new data from the at least one sensor, and for each time new data is acquired, identifying an occupant based on the acquired new data and determining the position of the occupant based on the acquired new data and a determination of the position of the occupant from a preceding time and then controlling the component based on at least one of the identification of the occupant and the determined position of the occupant.

Another method for controlling a component in a vehicle comprises the steps of acquiring data from at least one sensor relating to an occupant of a seat interacting with or using the component, identifying the occupant based on the acquired data, when the occupant is identified as a child seat, determining the orientation of the child seat based on the acquired data, determining the position of the child seat by means of one of a plurality of algorithms selected based on the determined orientation of the child seat, each of the algorithms being applicable for a specific orientation of a child seat, and controlling the component based on the determined position of the child seat. When the occupant is identified as other than a child seat, the method entails determining at least one of the size and position of the occupant and controlling the component based on the at least one of the size and position of the occupant.

One preferred embodiment of an adjustment system in accordance with the invention includes a plurality of wave-receiving sensors for receiving waves from the seat and its contents, if any, and one or more pressure or weight sensors for detecting pressure applied by or weight of an occupant in the seat or an absence of pressure or weight applied onto the seat indicative of a vacant seat. The apparatus also includes processor means for receiving the output of the wave-receiving sensors and the weight sensor(s) and for processing the outputs to evaluate a seated-state based on the outputs. The processor means then adjust a part of the component or the component in its entirety based at least on the evaluation of the seated-state of the seat. The wave-receiving sensors may be ultrasonic sensors, optical sensors or electromagnetic sensors operating at other than optical frequencies. If the wave-receiving sensors are ultrasonic or optical sensors, then they may also include transmitter means for transmitting ultrasonic or optical waves toward the seat. For the purposes herein, optical is used to include the infrared, visible and ultraviolet parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.

If the component is a seat, the system includes power means for moving at least one portion of the seat relative to the passenger compartment and control means connected to the power means for controlling the power means to move the portion(s) of the seat. In this case, the processor means may direct the control means to affect the power means based at least in part on the evaluation of the seated-state of the seat. With respect to the direction or regulation of the control means by the processor means, this may take the form of a regulation signal to the control means that no seat adjustment is needed, e.g., if the seat is occupied by a bag of groceries or a child seat in a rear or forward-facing position as determined by the evaluation of the output from the ultrasonic or optical and weight sensors. On the other hand, if the processor means determines that the seat is occupied by an adult or child for which adjustment of the seat is beneficial or desired, then the processor means may direct the control means to affect the power means accordingly. For example, if a child is detected on the seat, the processor means may be designed to lower the headrest.

In certain embodiments, the apparatus may include one or more sensors each of which measures a morphological characteristic of the occupying item of the seat, e.g., the height, weight or dielectric properties of the occupying item, and the processor means are arranged to obtain the input from these sensors and adjust the component accordingly. Thus, once the processor means evaluates the occupancy of the seat and determines that the occupancy is by an adult or child, then the processor means may additionally use either the obtained pressure or weight measurement or conduct additional measurements of morphological characteristics of the adult or child occupant and adjust the component accordingly. The processor means may be a single microprocessor for performing all of the functions described above. In the alternative, one microprocessor may be used for evaluating the occupancy of the seat and another for adjusting the component.

The processor means may comprise an evaluation circuit implemented in hardware as an electronic circuit or in software as a computer program or a combination thereof.

Another method for controlling a component in a vehicle entails acquiring data from at least one sensor relating to an occupant of a seat interacting with or using the component, determining an occupancy state of the seat based on the acquired data, periodically acquiring new data from the at least one sensor, for each time new data is acquired, determining the occupancy state of the seat based on the acquired new data and the determined occupancy state from a preceding time and controlling the component based on the determined occupancy state of the seat. This thus involves use of a feedback loop.

15.4a

In order to achieve at least one of the above-listed objects, a system for detecting the presence of an object in an aperture in accordance with the invention comprises an electromagnetic wave emitting device for emitting modulated electromagnetic waves and directing the modulated electromagnetic waves from at least one edge of a frame defining the aperture, a receiver device for receiving reflected electromagnetic waves and a device for measuring a phase change between the modulated electromagnetic waves and the reflected electromagnetic waves. The phase change measurement device may be embodied in the electromagnetic wave receiving component(s), or possibly in a processor or other similar type of control logic component. The presence of an obstacle in the aperture causes a variation in the phase change from a situation where an obstacle is not present. That is, when the system is installed in connection with the frame, the phase change is measured when it is known that an obstacle is not present and stored in a memory unit such as a memory of a microprocessor. In this case, the electromagnetic waves are emitted from one edge of the frame defining the aperture and reflected from an opposite edge of the frame to be received by a electromagnetic wave receiver on the same edge of the frame as the electromagnetic wave emitter (the electromagnetic wave emitter and receptor preferably being located together). This phase change may vary depending on the distance between the edges of the frame. In use, the phase change of the electromagnetic waves emitted is again measured and compared with the reference phase change(s) stored in the memory unit whereby any variations between the measured phase change and the reference phase change are indicative of electromagnetic waves not being reflected from the opposite edge of the frame, but instead being reflected from an object in the aperture.

As noted above, the electromagnetic wave receiving device can be located together with the electromagnetic wave emitting device, and may also comprise a linear CMOS array or a one-dimensional camera, focal plane array or similar one or two dimensional electromagnetic wave receiver. The electromagnetic wave emitting device may comprise one or more electromagnetic wave emitting diodes or a scanning laser system, which may operate in the visual, infrared or other portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. In the latter case, a single photo diode can be used as the receiving device.

The electromagnetic wave emitting device may be designed to modulate the electromagnetic waves with a wavelength between about 1 foot and 20 feet and direct the electromagnetic waves into a plane substantially parallel to a plane in which the aperture is situated, which would be appropriate for substantially planar apertures, e.g., for sliding doors or windows in vehicles. For non-planar apertures, an appropriately shaped mirror or lens or a two-dimensional receiver or scanner can be used.

A method for detecting the presence of an object in an aperture in accordance with the invention comprises the steps of directing illuminating electromagnetic waves toward at least a portion of a frame defining the aperture, modulating the illuminating electromagnetic waves, providing a device for receiving electromagnetic waves reflected from an opposite part of the frame, and detecting the presence of an obstacle in the aperture by measuring a phase change between the modulated electromagnetic waves and the reflected electromagnetic waves. The presence of an obstacle in the aperture causes a variation in the phase change from a situation where an obstacle is not present. Thus, as in the system described above, a reference phase change, or a reference phase change function (phase change expressed as a function of the location along the edge of the frame defining the aperture), is obtained by measuring the phase change between the modulated electromagnetic wave and the reflected electromagnetic wave when an obstacle is known not to be present in the aperture. Detection of the presence of an obstacle is facilitated by a comparison of the measured phase change to the reference phase change or reference phase change function. The properties of the system described above can be utilized in the method in accordance with the invention.

Another system for detecting the presence of an object in an aperture comprises an electromagnetic pulse emitting mechanism for emitting an electromagnetic pulse and directing the electromagnetic pulse from at least one edge of a frame defining the aperture, a receiver for receiving reflected electromagnetic waves from the electromagnetic pulse and a processor or similar mechanism for measuring a time of flight between the emission of the electromagnetic pulse and the reception of the reflected electromagnetic waves. The presence of an obstacle in the aperture causes a variation in the time of flight from a reference time of flight in a situation where an obstacle is not present in the aperture.

The electromagnetic pulse emitting mechanism may comprise at least one light emitting diode and/or be structured and arranged to direct the electromagnetic pulse into a plane substantially parallel to a plane in which the aperture is situated. The electromagnetic pulse emitting mechanism and receiver may be located together in the frame defining the aperture.

Another method for detecting the presence of an object in an aperture comprises the steps of transmitting a coded signal toward at least a portion of a frame defining the aperture, providing a mechanism for receiving the coded signal reflected from the portion of the frame, and detecting the presence of an obstacle in the aperture by measuring the time of flight between the transmission of the coded signal and the reception of the coded signal using correlation. The presence of an obstacle in the aperture causes a variation in the time of flight from a situation where an obstacle is not present.

The coded signal may be a phase or amplitude modulated carrier wave or an individual pulse.

In a preferred embodiment, a reference time of flight or reference time of flight function is obtained by measuring the time of flight between the transmitted coded signal and the received coded signal when an obstacle is known not to be present in the aperture. As such, detection of the presence of an obstacle in the aperture may entail comparing the reference time of flight or reference time of flight function to the measured time of flight whereby a difference between the measured time of flight and the reference time of flight or reference time of flight function is indicative of the presence of an object in the aperture.

The mechanism for receiving the coded signal may be a linear CMOS array arranged in the frame of the aperture, a one-dimensional camera or a single photo diode.

Transmission of the coded signal may be achieved by arranging at least one electromagnetic wave emitting diode in the frame of the aperture, arranging a plurality of electromagnetic wave emitting diodes in the frame of the aperture or directing a laser beam and moving the laser beam to scan across at least a portion of the aperture.

15.5 Weight, Biometrics

One embodiment of the present invention is a seat pressure weight measuring apparatus for measuring the pressure applied by or weight of an occupying item of the seat wherein a load sensor is installed at at least one location where the seat is attached to the vehicle body, for measuring a part of the load applied to the seat including the seat back and the sitting surface of the seat.

According to this embodiment of the invention, because a load sensor can be installed only at a single location of the seat, the production cost and the assembling/wiring cost may be reduced in comparison with the related art.

An object of the seat weight measuring apparatus stated herein is basically to measure the pressure applied by or weight of the occupying item of the seat. Therefore, the apparatus for measuring only the weight of the passenger by canceling the net weight of the seat is included as an optional feature in the seat weight measuring apparatus in accordance with the invention.

The seat pressure or weight measuring apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention is a seat weight measuring apparatus for measuring the pressure applied by or weight of an occupying item of the seat comprising a load sensor installed at at least one of the left and right seat frames at a portion of the seat at which the seat is fixed to the vehicle body.

The seat pressure or weight measuring apparatus of the present invention may further comprise a position sensor for detecting the position of occupying item of the seat. Considering the result detected by the position sensor makes the result detected by the load sensor more accurate.

A weight sensor for determining the pressure applied by or weight of an occupant of a seat in accordance with the invention includes a bladder arranged in a seat portion of the seat and including material or structure arranged in an interior for constraining fluid flow therein, and one or more transducers for measuring the pressure of the fluid in the interior of the bladder. The material or structure could be open cell foam. The bladder may include one or more chambers and if more than one chamber is provided, each chamber may be arranged at a different location in the seat portion of the seat.

An apparatus for determining the pressure or weight distribution of the occupant in accordance with the invention includes the pressure or weight sensor described above, in any of the various embodiments, with the bladder including several chamber and multiple transducers with each transducer being associated with a respective chamber so that weight distribution of the occupant is obtained from the pressure measurements of the transducers.

A method for determining the pressure applied by or weight of an occupant of an automotive seat in accordance with the invention involves arranging a bladder having at least one chamber in a seat portion of the seat, measuring the pressure in each chamber and deriving the weight of the occupant based on the measured pressure. The pressure in each chamber may be measured by a respective transducer associated therewith. The pressure or weight distribution of the occupant, the center of gravity of the occupant and/or the position of the occupant can be determined based on the pressure measured by the transducer(s). In one specific embodiment, the bladder is arranged in a container and fluid flow between the bladder and the container is permitted and optionally regulated, for example, via an adjustable orifice between the bladder and the container.

A vehicle seat in accordance with the invention includes a seat portion including a container having an interior containing fluid and a mechanism, material or structure therein to restrict flow of the fluid from one portion of the interior to another portion of the interior, a back portion arranged at an angle to the seat portion, and a measurement system arranged to obtain an indication of the pressure applied by or weight of the occupant when present on the seat portion based at least in part on the pressure of the fluid in the container.

In another vehicle seat in accordance with the invention, a container in the seat portion has an interior containing fluid and partitioned into multiple sections between which the fluid flows as a function of pressure applied to the seat portion. A measurement system obtains an indication of the pressure applied by or weight of the occupant when present on the seat portion based at least in part on the pressure of the fluid in the container. The container may be partitioned into an inner bladder and an outer container. In this case, the inner bladder may include an orifice leading to the outer container which has an adjustable size, and a control circuit controls the amount of opening of the orifice to thereby regulate fluid flow and pressure in and between the inner bladder and the outer container.

In another embodiment of a seat for a vehicle, the seat portion includes a bladder having a fluid-containing interior and is mounted by a mounting structure to a floor pan of the vehicle. A measurement system is associated with the bladder and arranged to obtain an indication of the pressure applied by or weight of the occupant when present on the seat portion based at least in part on the pressure of the fluid in the bladder.

A control system for controlling vehicle components based on occupancy of a seat as reflected by analysis of the pressure applied to or weight of the seat is also disclosed which and includes a bladder having at least one chamber and arranged in a seat portion of the seat; a measurement system for measuring the pressure in the chamber(s), one or more adjustment systems arranged to adjust one or more components in the vehicle and a processor coupled to the measurement system and to the adjustment system for determining an adjustment for the component(s) by the adjustment system based at least in part on the pressure measured by the measurement system. The adjustment system may be a system for adjusting deployment of an occupant restraint device, such as an airbag. In this case, the deployment adjustment system is arranged to control flow of gas into an airbag, flow of gas out of an airbag, rate of generation of gas and/or amount of generated gas. The adjustment system could also be a system for adjusting the seat, e.g., one or more motors for moving the seat, a system for adjusting the steering wheel, e.g., a motor coupled to the steering wheel, a system for adjusting a pedal, e.g., a motor coupled to the pedal.

The weight sensor arrangement can comprise a spring system arranged underneath a seat cushion and a sensor arranged in association with the spring system for generating a signal based on downward movement of the cushion caused by occupancy of the seat which is indicative of the weight of the occupying item. The sensor may be a displacement sensor structured and arranged to measure displacement of the spring system caused by occupancy of the seat. Such a sensor can comprise a spring retained at both ends and which is tensioned upon downward movement of the spring system and a measuring unit for measuring a force in the spring indicative of weight of the occupying item. The measuring unit can comprise a strain gage for measuring strain of the spring or a force-measuring device.

The sensor may also comprise a support, a cable retained at one end by the support and a length-measuring device arranged at an opposite end of the cable for measuring elongation of the cable indicative of weight of the occupying item. The sensor can also comprises one or more SAW strain gages and/or structured and arranged to measure a physical state of the spring system. If a bladder weight sensor is used, the pressure sensor can be a SAW based pressure sensor.

Furthermore, disclosed herein is a vehicle seat comprises a cushion defining a surface adapted to support an occupying item, a spring system arranged underneath the cushion and a sensor arranged in association with the spring system for generating a signal based on downward movement of the cushion and/or spring system caused by occupancy of the seat which is indicative of the weight of the occupying item. The spring system may be in contact with the sensor. The sensor may be a displacement sensor structured and arranged to measure displacement of the spring system caused by occupancy of the seat. In the alternative, the sensor may be designed to measure deflection of a bottom of the cushion, e.g., placed on the bottom of the cushion. Instead of a displacement sensor, the sensor can comprise a spring retained at both ends and which is tensioned upon downward movement of the spring system and a measuring unit for measuring a force in the spring indicative of weight of the occupying item. Non-limiting constructions of the measuring unit include a strain gage for measuring strain of the spring or the measuring unit can comprise a force measuring device. The sensor can also comprises a support, a cable retained at one end by the support and a length-measuring device arranged at an opposite end of the cable for measuring elongation of the cable indicative of weight of the occupying item. In this case, the length measuring device may comprises a cylinder, a rod arranged in the cylinder and connected to the opposite end of the cable, a spring arranged in the cylinder and connected to the rod to resist elongation of the cable and windings arranged in the cylinder. The amount of coupling between the windings provides an indication of the extent of elongation of the cable. A strain gage can also be used to measure the change in length of the cable. In one particular embodiment, the sensor comprises one or more strain gages structured and arranged to measure a physical state of the spring system or the seat. Electrical connections such as wires connect the strain gage(s) to the control system. Each strain gage transducer may incorporate signal conditioning circuitry and an analog to digital converter such that the measured strain is output as a digital signal. Alternately, a surface acoustical wave (SAW) strain gage can be used in place of conventional wire, foil or silicon strain gages and the strain measured either wirelessly or by a wire connection. For SAW strain gages, the electronic signal conditioning can be associated directly with the gage or remotely in an electronic control module as desired.

In a method for measuring weight of an occupying item on a seat cushion of a vehicle, a spring system is arranged underneath the cushion and a sensor is arranged in association with the cushion for generating a signal based on downward movement of the cushion and/or spring system caused by the occupying item which is indicative of the weight of the occupying item. The particular constructions of the spring system and sensor discussed above can be implemented in the method.

Another embodiment of a weight sensor system comprises a spring system adapted to be arranged underneath the cushion and extend between the supports and a sensor arranged in association with the spring system for generating a signal indicative of the weight applied to the cushion based on downward movement of the cushion and/or spring system caused by the weight applied to the seat. The particular constructions of the spring system and sensor discussed above can be implemented in this embodiment.

An embodiment of a vehicle including an arrangement for controlling a component based on an occupying item of the vehicle comprises a cushion defining a surface adapted to support the occupying item, a spring system arranged underneath the cushion, a sensor arranged in association with the spring system for generating a signal indicative of the weight of the occupying item based on downward movement of the cushion and/or spring system caused by occupancy of the seat and a processor coupled to the sensor for receiving the signal indicative of the weight of the occupying item and generating a control signal for controlling the component. The particular constructions of the spring system and sensor discussed above can be implemented in this embodiment. The component may be an airbag module or several airbag modules, or any other type of occupant protection or restraint device.

A method for controlling a component in a vehicle based on an occupying item comprises the steps of arranging a spring system arranged underneath a cushion on which the occupying item may rest, arranging a sensor in association with the cushion for generating a signal based on downward movement of the cushion and/or spring system caused by the occupying item which is indicative of the weight of the occupying item, and controlling the component based on the signal indicative of the weight of the occupying item. The particular constructions of the spring system and sensor discussed above can be implemented in this method.

In one weight measuring method in accordance with the invention disclosed herein, at least one strain gage transducer is mounted at a respective location on the support structure and provides a measurement of the strain of the support structure at that location, and the weight of the occupying item of the seat is determined based on the strain of the support structure measured by the strain gage transducer(s). In another method, the seat includes the slide mechanisms for mounting the seat to a substrate and bolts for mounting the seat to the slide mechanisms, the pressure exerted on the seat is measured by at least one pressure sensor arranged between one of the slide mechanisms and the seat. Each pressure sensor typically comprises first and second layers of shock absorbing material spaced from one another and a pressure sensitive material interposed between the first and second layers of shock absorbing material. The weight of the occupying item of the seat is determined based on the pressure measured by the at least one pressure sensor. In still another method for measuring the weight of an occupying item of a seat, a load cell is mounted between the seat and a substrate on which the seat is supported. The load cell includes a member and a strain gage arranged thereon to measure tensile strain therein caused by weight of an occupying item of the seat. The weight of the occupying item of the seat is determined based on the strain in the member measured by the strain gage. Naturally, the load cell can be incorporated at other locations in the seat support structure and need not be between the seat and substrate. In such a case, however, the seat would need to be especially designed for that particular mounting location. The seat would then become the weight measuring device.

Disclosed herein are apparatus for measuring the weight of an occupying item of a seat including at least one strain gage transducer, each mounted at a respective location on a support structure of the seat and arranged to provide a measurement of the strain of the support structure thereat. A control system is coupled to the strain gage transducer(s) for determining the weight of the occupying item of the seat based on the strain of the support structure measured by the strain gage transducer(s). The support structure of the seat is mounted to a substrate such as a floor pan of a motor vehicle. Electrical connection such as wires connect the strain gage transducer(s) to the control system. Each strain gage transducer may incorporate signal conditioning circuitry and an analog to digital converter such that the measured strain is output as a digital signal. The positioning of the strain gage transducer(s) depends in large part on the actual construction of the support structure of the seat. Thus, when the support structure comprises two elongate slide mechanisms adapted to be mounted on the substrate and support members for coupling the seat to the slide mechanisms, several strain gage transducers may be used, each arranged on a respective support member. If the support structure further includes a slide member, another strain gage transducer may be mounted thereon. It is advantageous to increase the accuracy of the strain gage transducers and/or concentrating the strain caused by occupancy of the seat and this may be accomplished, for example, by forming a support member from first and second tubes having longitudinally opposed ends and a third tube overlying the opposed ends of the first and second tubes and connected to the first and second tubes whereby a strain gage transducer is arranged on the third tube. Naturally, other structural shapes may be used in place of one or more of the tubes.

Another disclosed embodiment of an apparatus for measuring the weight of an occupying item of a seat includes a load cell adapted to be mounted to the seat and to a substrate on which the seat is supported. The load cell includes a member and a strain gage arranged thereon to measure tensile (or compression) strain in the member caused by weight of an occupying item of the seat. A control system is coupled to the strain gage for determining the weight of an occupying item of the seat based on the strain in the member measured by the strain gage. If the member is a beam and the strain gage includes two strain sensing elements, then one strain-sensing element is arranged in a longitudinal direction of the beam and the other is arranged in a transverse direction of the beam. If four strain sensing elements are present, a first pair is arranged in a longitudinal direction of the beam and a second pair is arranged in a transverse direction of the beam. The member may be a tube in which case, a strain-sensing element is arranged on the tube to measure compressive strain in the tube and another strain sensing element is arranged on the tube to measure tensile strain in the tube. The member may also be an elongate torsion bar mounted at its ends to the substrate. In this case, the load cell includes a lever arranged between the ends of the torsion bar and connected to the seat such that a torque is imparted to the torsion bar upon weight being exerted on the seat. The strain gage thus includes a torsional strain-sensing element.

In a method for measuring weight of an occupying item in a vehicle seat disclosed herein, support members are interposed between the seat and slide mechanisms which enable movement of the seat and such that at least a portion of the weight of the occupying item passes through the support members, at least one of the support members is provided with a region having a lower stiffness than a remaining region, at least one strain gage transducer is arranged in the lower stiffness region of the support member to measure strain thereof and an indication of the weight of the occupying item is obtained based at least in part on the strain of the lower stiffness region of the support member measured by the strain gage transducer(s). The support member(s) may be formed by providing an elongate member and cutting around the circumference of the elongate member to thereby obtain the lower stiffness region or by other means.

A vehicular arrangement for controlling a component based on an occupying item of the vehicle disclosed herein comprises a seat defining a surface adapted to contact the occupying item, slide mechanisms coupled to the seat for enabling movement of the seat, support members for supporting the seat on the slide mechanisms such that at least a portion of the weight of the occupying item passes through the support members. At least one of the support members has a region with a lower stiffness than a remaining region of the support member. A strain gage measurement system generates a signal indicative of the weight of the occupying item, and a processor coupled to the strain gage measurement system receives the signal indicative of the weight of the occupying item and generates a control signal for controlling the component. The strain gage measurement system includes at least one strain gage transducer arranged in the lower stiffness region of the support member to measure strain thereof. The component can be any vehicular component, system or subsystem which can utilize the weight of the occupying item of the seat for control, e.g., an airbag system.

Another method for controlling a component in a vehicle based on an occupying item disclosed herein comprises the steps of interposing support members between a seat on which the occupying item may rest and slide mechanisms which enable movement of the seat and such that at least a portion of the weight of the occupying item passes through the support members, providing at least one of the support members with a region having a lower stiffness than a remaining region, arranging at least one strain gage transducer in the lower stiffness region of the support member to measure strain thereof, and controlling the component based at least in part on the strain of the lower stiffness region of the support member measured by the strain gage transducer(s). If the component is an airbag, the step of controlling the component can entail controlling the rate of deployment of the airbag, the start time of deployment, the inflation rate of the airbag, the rate of gas removal from the airbag and/or the maximum pressure in the airbag.

In another weight measuring system, one or more of the connecting members which connect the seat to the slide mechanisms comprises an elongate stud having first and second threaded end regions and an unthreaded intermediate region between the first and second threaded end regions, the first threaded end region engaging the seat and the second threaded end region engaging one of the slide mechanisms, and a strain gage measurement system arranged on the unthreaded intermediate region for measuring strain in the connecting member at the unthreaded intermediate region which is indicative of weight being applied by an occupying item in the seat. The strain gage measurement system may comprises a SAW strain gage and associated circuitry and electric components capable of receiving a wave and transmitting a wave modified by virtue of the strain in the connecting member, e.g., an antenna. The connecting member can be made of a non-metallic, composite material to avoid problems with the electromagnetic wave propagation. An interrogator may be provided for communicating wirelessly with the SAW strain gage measurement system.

Further, disclosed herein is a vehicle seat structure which comprises a seat or cushion defining a surface adapted to contact an occupying item, slide mechanisms coupled to the seat for enabling movement of the seat, support members for supporting the seat on the slide mechanisms such that at least a portion of the weight of the occupying item passes through the support members. At least one of the support members has a region with a lower stiffness than a remaining region of the support member. The remaining regions of the support member are not necessarily the entire remaining portions of the support member and they may be multiple regions with a lower stiffness than other regions. A strain gage measurement system generates a signal indicative of the weight of the occupying item. The strain gage measurement system includes at least one strain gage transducer arranged in a lower stiffness region of the support member to measure strain thereof. The support member(s) may be tubular whereby the lower stiffness region has a smaller diameter than a diameter of the remaining region. If the support member is not tubular, the lower stiffness region may have a smaller circumference than a circumference of a remaining region of the support member. Each support member may have a first end connected to one of the slide mechanisms and a second end connected to the seat. Electrical connections, such as wires or electromagnetic waves which transfer power wirelessly, connect the strain gage transducer(s) to the control system. Each strain gage transducer may incorporate signal conditioning circuitry and an analog to digital converter such that the measured strain is output as a digital signal. Alternately, a surface acoustical wave (SAW) strain gage can be used in place of conventional wire, foil or silicon strain gages and the strain transmitted either wirelessly or by a wire connection. For SAW strain gages, the electronic signal conditioning can be associated directly with the gage or remotely in an electronic control module as desired. The strain gage measurement system preferably includes at least one additional strain gage transducer arranged on another support member and a control system coupled to the strain gage transducers for receiving the strain measured by the strain gage transducers and providing the signal indicative of the weight of the occupying item.

Disclosed herein is a vehicle seat structure comprising a seat defining a surface adapted to contact an occupying item and a weight sensor arrangement arranged in connection with the seat for providing an indication of the weight applied by the occupying item to the surface of the seat. The weight sensor arrangement includes conductive members spaced apart from one another such that a capacitance develops between opposed ones of the conductive members upon incorporation of the conductive members in an electrical circuit. The capacitance is based on the space between the conductive members which varies in relation to the weight applied by the occupying item to the surface of the seat. The weight sensor arrangement may include a pair of non-metallic substrates and a layer of material situated between the non-metallic substrates, possibly a compressible material. The conductive members may comprise a first electrode arranged on a first side of the material layer and a second electrode arranged on a second side of the material layer. The weight sensor arrangement may be arranged in connection with slide mechanisms adapted to support the seat on a substrate of the vehicle while enabling movement of the seat, possibly between the slide mechanisms and the seat. If bolts attach the seat to the slide mechanisms, the conductive members may be annular and placed on the bolts.

Another embodiment of a seat structure comprises a seat defining a surface adapted to contact an occupying item, slide mechanisms adapted to support the seat on a substrate of the vehicle while enabling movement of the seat and a weight sensor arrangement interposed between the seat and the slide mechanisms for measuring displacement of the seat which provides an indication of the weight applied by the occupying item to the seat. The weight sensor arrangement can include a capacitance sensor which measures a capacitance which varies in relation to the displacement of the seat. The capacitance sensor can include conductive members spaced apart from one another such that a capacitance develops between opposed ones of the conductive members upon incorporation of the members in an electrical circuit, the capacitance being based on the space between the members which varies in relation to the weight applied by the occupying item to the seat.

Another disclosed embodiment of an apparatus for measuring the weight of an occupying item of a seat includes slide mechanisms for mounting the seat to a substrate and bolts for mounting the seat to the slide mechanisms, the apparatus comprises at least one pressure sensor arranged between one of the slide mechanisms and the seat for measuring pressure exerted on the seat. Each pressure sensor may comprise first and second layers of shock absorbing material spaced from one another and a pressure sensitive material interposed between the first and second layers of shock absorbing material. A control system is coupled to the pressure sensitive material for determining the weight of the occupying item of the seat based on the pressure measured by the at least one pressure sensor. The pressure sensitive material may include an electrode on upper and lower faces thereof.

One embodiment of an apparatus in accordance with invention includes a first measuring system for measuring a first morphological characteristic of the occupying item of the seat and a second measuring system for measuring a second morphological characteristic of the occupying item. Morphological characteristics include the weight of the occupying item, the height of the occupying item from the bottom portion of the seat and if the occupying item is a human, the arm length, head diameter and leg length. The apparatus also includes a processor for receiving the output of the first and second measuring systems and for processing the outputs to evaluate a seated-state based on the outputs. The measuring systems described herein, as well as any other conventional measuring systems, may be used in the invention to measure the morphological characteristics of the occupying item.

The weight measuring apparatus described herein may be used in apparatus and methods for adjusting a vehicle component, although other weight measuring apparatus may also be used in the vehicle component adjusting systems and methods described herein.

One embodiment of such an apparatus in accordance with invention includes a first measuring system for measuring a first morphological characteristic of the occupying item of the seat and a second measuring system for measuring a second morphological characteristic of the occupying item. Morphological characteristics include the weight of the occupying item, the height of the occupying item from the bottom portion of the seat and if the occupying item is a human, the arm length, head diameter, facial features and leg length. The apparatus also includes processor means for receiving the output of the first and second measuring systems and for processing the outputs to evaluate a seated-state based on the outputs. The measuring systems described herein, as well as any other conventional measuring systems, may be used in the invention to measure the morphological characteristics of the occupying item.

Furthermore, although the weight measuring system and apparatus described herein are described for particular use in a vehicle, it is of course possible to apply the same constructions to measure the weight of an occupying item on other seats in non-vehicular applications, if a weight measurement is desired for some purpose.

Methods and arrangements for detecting motion of objects in a vehicle, and specifically motion of an occupant indicative of a heartbeat, are also disclosed. Detection of the heartbeat of occupants is useful to provide an indication that a seat is occupied and can also prevent infant suffocation by automatically opening a vent or window when an infant's heartbeat is detected anywhere in the vehicle, e.g., either in the passenger compartment or the trunk, and the temperature in the vehicle is rising. Further, detection of motion or a heartbeat in the passenger compartment of the vehicle can be used to warn a driver that someone is hiding in the vehicle.

The determination of the presence of human beings or other life forms in the vehicle can also used in various methods and arrangements for, e.g., controlling deployment of occupant restraint devices in the event of a vehicle crash, controlling heating and air-conditioning systems to optimize the comfort for any occupants, controlling an entertainment system as desired by the occupants, controlling a glare prevention device for the occupants, preventing accidents by a driver who is unable to safely drive the vehicle and enabling an effective and optimal response in the event of a crash (either oral directions to be communicated to the occupants or the dispatch of personnel to aid the occupants). Thus, one objective of the invention is to obtain information about occupancy of a vehicle and convey this information to remotely situated assistance personnel to optimize their response to a crash involving the vehicle and/or enable proper assistance to be rendered to the occupants after the crash.

In order to achieve at least some of the above-listed objects, a vehicle including a system for analyzing motion of occupants of the vehicle in accordance with the invention comprises a wave-receiving system for receiving waves from spaces above seats of the vehicle in which the occupants would normally be situated and a processor coupled to the wave-receiving system for determining movement of any occupants based on the waves received by the wave-receiving system. The wave-receiving system may be arranged on a rear view mirror assembly of the vehicle, in a headliner, roof, ceiling or windshield header of the vehicle, in an A-Pillar or B-Pillar of the vehicle, above a top surface of an instrument panel of the vehicle, and in connection with a steering wheel of the vehicle or an airbag module of the vehicle. The wave-receiving system may comprise a single axis antenna for receiving waves from spaces above a plurality of the seats in the vehicle or means for generating a scanning radar beam.

The processor can be programmed to determine the location of at least one of the head, chest and torso of any occupants. If it determines the location of the head of any occupants, it could monitor the position of the head of any occupants to determine whether the occupant is falling asleep or becoming incapacitated. If it determines a position of any occupants at several time intervals, it could enable a determination of movement of any occupants to be obtained based on differences between the position of any occupants over time.

A vehicle including a system for operating the vehicle by a driver in accordance with the invention comprises a wave-receiving system for receiving waves from a space above a seat in which the driver is situated, a processor coupled to the wave-receiving system for determining movement of the driver based on the waves received by the wave-receiving system and ascertaining whether the driver has become unable to operate the vehicle and a reactive system coupled to the processor for taking action to effect a change in the operation of the vehicle upon a determination that the driver has become unable to operate the vehicle. The wave-receiving system may be arranged on or adjacent a rear view mirror assembly of the vehicle, in a headliner, roof, ceiling or windshield header of the vehicle, in an A-Pillar or B-Pillar of the vehicle, above a top surface of an instrument panel of the vehicle, and in connection with a steering wheel of the vehicle or an airbag module of the vehicle.

A method for regulating operation of the vehicle by a driver in accordance with invention comprises the steps of receiving waves from a space above a seat in which the driver is situated, determining movement of the driver based on the received waves, ascertaining whether the driver has become unable to operate the vehicle based on any movement of the driver or a part of the driver, and taking action to effect a change in the operation of the vehicle upon a determination that the driver has become unable to operate the vehicle. Such action can be the activation of an alarm, a warning device, a steering wheel correction device and/or a steering wheel friction increasing device which would make it harder to turn the steering wheel.

In enhanced embodiments, a heartbeat or animal life state sensor may be provided for detecting the heartbeat of the occupant if present or animal life state and generating an output representative thereof. The processor means additionally receives this output and evaluates the seated-state of the seat based in part thereon. In addition to or instead of such a heartbeat or animal life state sensor, a capacitive or electric field sensor and/or a motion sensor may be provided. The capacitive sensor is a particular implementation of an electromagnetic wave sensor that detects the presence of the occupant and generates an output representative of the presence of the occupant based on its dielectric properties. The motion sensor detects movement of the occupant and generates an output representative thereof. These outputs are provided to the processor means for possible use in the evaluation of the seated-state of the seat.

The portion of the apparatus which includes the ultrasonic, optical or non-optical electromagnetic sensors, weight measuring means and processor means which evaluate the occupancy of the seat based on the measured weight of the seat and its contents and the returned waves from the ultrasonic, optical or non-optical electromagnetic sensors may be considered to constitute a seated-state detecting unit.

The seated-state detecting unit may further comprise a seat position-detecting sensor. This sensor determines the position of the seat in the forward and aft direction. In this case, the evaluation circuit evaluates the seated-state, based on a correlation function obtained from outputs of the ultrasonic sensors, an output of the weight sensor(s), and an output of the seat position detecting sensor. With this structure, there is the advantage that the identification between the flat configuration of a detected surface in a state where a passenger is not sitting in the seat and the flat configuration of a detected surface which is detected when a seat is slid backwards by the amount of the thickness of a passenger, that is, of identification of whether a passenger seat is vacant or occupied by a passenger, can be reliably performed.

Another control system for controlling a part of the vehicle based on occupancy of the seat in accordance with the invention comprises a plurality of strain gages mounted in connection with the seat, each measuring strain of a respective mounting location caused by occupancy of the seat, and a processor coupled to the strain gages and arranged to determine the weight of an occupying item based on the strain measurements from the strain gages over a period of time, i.e., dynamic measurements. The processor controls the part based at least in part on the determined weight of the occupying item of the seat. The processor can also determine motion of the occupying item of the seat based on the strain measurements from the strain gages over the period of time. One or more accelerometers may be mounted on the vehicle for measuring acceleration in which case, the processor may control the part based at least in part on the determined weight of the occupying item of the seat and the acceleration measured by the accelerometer(s).

By comparing the output of various sensors in the vehicle, it is possible to determine activities that are affecting parts of the vehicle while not affecting other parts. For example, by monitoring the vertical accelerations of various parts of the vehicle and comparing these accelerations with the output of strain gage load cells placed on the seat support structure, a characterization can be made of the occupancy of the seat. Not only can the weight of an object occupying the seat be determined, but also the gross motion of such an object can be ascertained and thereby an assessment can be made as to whether the object is a life form such as a human being. Strain gage weight sensors are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/193,209 filed Nov. 17, 1998 (corresponding to International Publication No. WO 00/29257). In particular, the inventors contemplate the combination of all of the ideas expressed in this patent application with those expressed in the current invention.

15.6 Telematics and Diagnostics

A vehicle equipped in accordance with the invention includes an occupant sensing system arranged to determine at least one property or characteristic of occupancy of the vehicle constituting information about the occupancy of the vehicle, a crash sensor system for determining when the vehicle experiences a crash (one or more crash sensors) and a communications device coupled to the occupant sensing system and the crash sensor system and arranged to enable a communications channel to be established between the vehicle and a remote facility after the vehicle is determined to have experienced a crash. In this manner, information about the occupancy of the vehicle determined by the occupant sensing system can be transmitted via the communications channel to the remote facility. The communications device may comprise a cellular telephone system including an antenna or other similar communication-enabling device.

The occupant sensing system may include a plurality of the same or different sensors, for example, an image-obtaining sensor for obtaining images of the passenger compartment of the vehicle whereby the communications device transmits the images. If a crash sensor system is provided for determining when the vehicle experiences a crash, the image-obtaining sensor may be designed to obtain images including the driver of the vehicle with the communications device being coupled to the crash sensor system and arranged to transmit images of the passenger compartment just prior to the crash once the crash sensor system has determined that the vehicle has experienced a crash, during the crash once the crash sensor system has determined that the vehicle has experienced a crash and/or after the crash once the crash sensor system has determined that the vehicle has experienced a crash.

The occupant sensing system may also include at least one motion sensor with the communications device being arranged to transmit information about any motion of occupants in the passenger compartment as part of the information about the occupancy of the vehicle. This would help to assess whether the occupants are conscious after a crash and mobile.

The occupant sensing system may also include an arrangement for determining the number of occupants in the vehicle with the communications device being arranged to transmit the number of occupants in the passenger compartment as part of the information about the occupancy of the vehicle. The arrangement may include receivers arranged to receive waves, energy or radiation from all of the seating locations in the passenger compartment and a processor arranged to determine the number of occupants in the passenger compartment from the received waves, energy or radiation. Waves, energy or radiation may be in the form of ultrasonic waves, electromagnetic waves, electric fields, capacitive fields and the like. The arrangement may also include heartbeat sensors, weight sensors associated with seats in the vehicle and/or chemical sensors.

The processor can be arranged to determine the condition of any occupants in the vehicle. When the occupant sensing system comprises receivers arranged to receive waves, energy or radiation from the passenger compartment, the processor can determine the condition of any occupants in the vehicle based on the received waves, energy or radiation. In this case, the communications device transmits the condition of the occupants as part of the information about the occupancy of the vehicle.

In another embodiment, at least one vehicle sensor is provided, each sensing a state of the vehicle or a state of a component of the vehicle. The communications device is coupled, wired or wirelessly, directly or indirectly, to each vehicle sensor and transmits the state of the vehicle or the state of the component of the vehicle.

One or more environment sensors can be provided, each sensing a state of the environment around the vehicle. The communications device is coupled, wired or wirelessly, directly or indirectly, to each environment sensor and transmits information about the environment of the vehicle. The environment sensor may be an optical or other image-obtaining sensor for obtaining images of the environment around the vehicle. The environment sensor can also be a road condition sensor, an ambient temperature sensor, an internal temperature sensor, a clock, and a location sensor for sensing the location of objects around the vehicle such as the sun, lights and other vehicles, a sensor for sensing the presence of rain, snow, sleet and fog, the presence and location of potholes, ice and snow cover, the presence and status of the road and traffic, sensors which obtain images of the environment surrounding the vehicle blind spot detectors which provides data on the blind spot of the driver, automatic cruise control sensors that can provide images of vehicles in front of the vehicle and radar devices which provide the position of other vehicles and objects relative to the vehicle.

When a crash sensor system for determining when the vehicle experiences a crash is coupled to the system in accordance with the invention, the communications device being coupled to the crash sensor system and arranged to transmit information about the occupancy of the vehicle upon the crash sensor system determining that the vehicle has experienced a crash.

Optionally, a memory unit is coupled to the occupant sensing system and the communications device and receives the information about the occupancy of the vehicle from the occupant sensing system and stores the information. The communications device interrogates the memory unit to obtain the stored information about the occupancy of the vehicle to enable transmission thereof.

A method for monitoring and providing assistance to a vehicle in accordance with the invention comprises the steps of determining at least one property or characteristic of occupancy of the vehicle constituting information about the occupancy of the vehicle, determining when the vehicle experiences a crash, establishing a communications channel between the vehicle and a remote facility only after the vehicle is determined to have experienced a crash and transmitting the information about the occupancy of the vehicle to a remote location after the vehicle is determined to have experienced a crash. At the remote facility, the information about the occupancy of the vehicle received from the vehicle is considered and assistance is directed to the vehicle based on the transmitted information.

Additional enhancements of the method include obtaining images of the passenger compartment of the vehicle and transmitting the images of the passenger compartment after the crash. It is possible to determine when the vehicle experiences a crash in which case, images including the driver of the vehicle just prior to the crash are obtained and transmitted once it has determined that the vehicle has experienced a crash.

Determining the properties or characteristics of occupancy of the vehicle may entail determining any motion in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, whereby information about any motion of occupants in the passenger compartment is transmitted as part of the information about the occupancy of the vehicle. In addition to or instead of motion, determining the property or characteristic of occupancy of the vehicle may entail determining the number of occupants in the passenger compartment, the number of occupants in the passenger compartment being transmitted as part of the information about the occupancy of the vehicle. To this end, the number of occupants in the vehicle can be determined by receiving waves, energy or radiation from all of the seating locations in the passenger compartment and determining the number of occupants in the passenger compartment from the received waves, energy or radiation. The number of occupants in the vehicle can also be determined by arranging at least one heartbeat sensor in the vehicle to detect the presence of heartbeats in the vehicle such that the number of occupants is determinable from the number of detected heartbeat signals. The number of occupants in the vehicle can also be determined by arranging at least one weight sensor system in the vehicle to detect the weight and/or weight distribution applied to the seats such that the number of occupants is determinable from the detected weight and/or weight distribution. Further, the number of occupants in the vehicle can be determined by arranging at least one temperature sensor to measure temperature in the passenger compartment whereby the number of occupants is determinable from the measured temperature in the passenger compartment. The number of occupants in the vehicle can also be determined by arranging at least one seatbelt buckle switch to provide an indication of the seatbelt being buckled whereby the number of occupants is determinable from the buckled state of the seatbelts. The number of occupants in the vehicle can also be determined by arranging at least one chemical sensor to provide an indication of the presence of a chemical indicative of the presence of an occupant whereby the number of occupants is determinable from the indication of the presence of the chemical indicative of the presence of an occupant.

The condition of any occupants in the vehicle can be determined based on the received waves, energy or radiation, the condition of the occupants being transmitted as part of the information about the occupancy of the vehicle. The number of human occupants can also be determined as the property or characteristic of occupancy of the vehicle.

The method can also include the steps of sensing a state of the vehicle or a state of a component of the vehicle and transmitting the state of the vehicle or the state of the component of the vehicle. Also, a state of the environment around the vehicle can be sensed and information about the environment of the vehicle transmitted.

When it is determined that the vehicle experiences a crash, information can be transmitted immediately thereafter. Optionally, a memory unit is provided to receive the information about the occupancy of the vehicle and store the information. The memory unit is interrogated, e.g., after a crash, to obtain the stored information about the occupancy of the vehicle to enable transmission thereof.

To achieve one or more of the above-listed objects, a control system and method for controlling an occupant restraint system in accordance with the invention comprise a plurality of electronic sensors mounted at different locations on the vehicle, each sensor providing a measurement related to a state thereof or a measurement related to a state of the mounting location, and a processor coupled to the sensors and arranged to diagnose the state of the vehicle based on the measurements of the sensors. The processor controls the occupant restraint system based at least in part on the diagnosed state of the vehicle in an attempt to minimize injury to an occupant. Various sensors may be used including one or more single axis acceleration sensors, double axis acceleration sensors, triaxial acceleration sensors, high dynamic range accelerometers and gyroscopes such as gyroscopes including a surface acoustic wave resonator which applies standing waves on a piezoelectric substrate. One or more sensors may include an RF response unit in which case, an RF interrogator device causes the RF response unit of to transmit a signal representative of the measurement of the sensor to the processor. A weight sensor may be coupled to a seat in the vehicle for sensing the weight of an occupying item of the seat and to the processor so that the processor controls the occupant restraint system based on the state of the vehicle and the weight of the occupying item of the seat sensed by the weight sensor.

The state of the vehicle diagnosed by the processor includes angular motion of the vehicle, a determination of a location of an impact between the vehicle and another object and/or angular acceleration. In the latter case, several sensors may be accelerometers such that the processor determines the angular acceleration of the vehicle based on the acceleration measured by the accelerometers.

The processor may be designed to forecast the severity of the impact using the force/crush properties of the vehicle at the impact location and control the occupant restraint system based at least in part on the severity of the impact. The processor may also include pattern recognition means for diagnosing the state of the vehicle. A display may be coupled to the processor for displaying an indication of the state of the vehicle. A warning device, alarm or other audible or visible signal indicator may be coupled to the processor for relaying or conveying a warning to an occupant of the vehicle relating to the state of the vehicle. A transmission device may also be coupled to the processor for transmitting a signal to a remote site relating to the state of the vehicle.

Another embodiment of a control system for controlling an occupant restraint system comprises a plurality of sensors mounted at different locations on the vehicle, each sensor providing a measurement related to a state thereof or a measurement related to a state of the mounting location and a processor coupled to the sensors and arranged to diagnose the state of the vehicle based on the measurements of the sensors. The processor is arranged to control the occupant restraint system based at least in part on the diagnosed state of the vehicle. At least two of the sensors are a single axis acceleration sensor, a dual axis acceleration sensor, a triaxial acceleration sensor or a gyroscope.

The sensors can be used in a control system for controlling a navigation system wherein the state of the vehicle diagnosed by the processor includes angular motion of the vehicle whereby angular position or orientation are derivable from the angular motion. The processor then controls the navigation system based on the angular acceleration of the vehicle.

Another method for monitoring and providing assistance to a vehicle in accordance with the invention comprises determining at least one property or characteristic of occupancy of the vehicle constituting information about the occupancy of the vehicle, determining at least one state of the vehicle or of a component of the vehicle constituting information about the operation of the vehicle, selectively establishing a communications channel between the vehicle and a remote facility and transmitting the information about the occupancy of the vehicle and the information about the operation of the vehicle to the remote facility when the communications channel is established to enable assistance to be provided to the vehicle based on the transmitted information. Thus, different recipients could receive different information, whatever information is pertinent and relevant to that recipient. Thus, selective transmission of information may entail addressing a transmission of information about the occupancy of the vehicle differently than a transmission of information about the operation of the vehicle. Moreover, at the remote facility, the information about the occupancy of the vehicle and the information about the operation of the vehicle received from the vehicle is considered and if necessary, assistance is directed to the vehicle based on the transmitted information,

In another embodiment of this method, images of the passenger compartment of the vehicle are obtained and transmitted after the crash. The images ideally include the driver of the vehicle. The images of the passenger compartment just prior to the crash can be transmitted once it has determined that the vehicle has experienced a crash. This would assist in accident reconstruction and placement of fault and liability.

The determination of a property or characteristic of occupancy of the vehicle may entail determining any motion in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, determining the number of occupants in the passenger compartment and/or determining the number of human occupants in the passenger compartment.

The determination of the number of occupants in the vehicle may be performed in a variety of ways. For example, by receiving waves, energy or radiation from all of the seating locations in the passenger compartment and determining the number of occupants in the passenger compartment from the received waves, energy or radiation, by arranging at least one heartbeat sensor in the vehicle to detect the presence of heartbeats in the vehicle such that the number of occupants is determinable from the number of detected heartbeat signals, by arranging at least one weight sensor system in the vehicle to detect the weight and/or weight distribution applied to the seats such that the number of occupants is determinable from the detected weight and/or weight distribution, by arranging at least one temperature sensor to measure temperature in the passenger compartment whereby the number of occupants is determinable from the measured temperature in the passenger compartment, by arranging at least one seatbelt buckle switch to provide an indication of the seatbelt being buckled whereby the number of occupants is determinable from the buckled state of the seatbelts, and/or by arranging at least one chemical sensor to provide an indication of the presence of a chemical indicative of the presence of an occupant whereby the number of occupants is determinable from the indication of the presence of the chemical indicative of the presence of an occupant.

The determination of a property of characteristic of occupancy of the vehicle may entail determining the condition of any occupants in the vehicle based on the received waves, energy or radiation, the condition of the occupants being transmitted as part of the information about the occupancy of the vehicle.

The method can also include the steps of sensing a state of the vehicle or a state of a component of the vehicle and transmitting the state of the vehicle or the state of the component of the vehicle. Also, a state of the environment around the vehicle can be sensed and information about the environment of the vehicle transmitted.

When it is determined that the vehicle experiences a crash, information can be transmitted immediately thereafter. Optionally, a memory unit is provided to receive the information about the occupancy of the vehicle and store the information. The memory unit is interrogated, e.g., after a crash, to obtain the stored information about the occupancy of the vehicle to enable transmission thereof.

Among the inventions disclosed herein is an arrangement for obtaining and conveying information about occupancy of a passenger compartment of a vehicle which comprises at least one occupant sensor, a generating system coupled to the occupant sensor for generating information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment based on the occupant sensor(s) and a communications device coupled to the generating system for transmitting the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment. As such, response personnel can receive the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment and respond appropriately, if necessary. There may be several occupant sensors and they may be, e.g., ultrasonic wave-receiving sensors, electromagnetic wave-receiving sensors, electric field sensors, antenna near field modification sensing sensors, energy absorption sensors, capacitance sensors, or combinations thereof. The information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment can include the number of occupants in the passenger compartment, as well as whether each occupant is moving non-reflexively and breathing. A transmitter may be provided for transmitting waves into the passenger compartment such that each wave-receiving sensor receives waves transmitted from the transmitter and modified by passing into and at least partially through the passenger compartment. Waves may also be from natural sources such as the sun, from lights on a vehicle or roadway, or radiation naturally emitted from the occupant or other object in the vehicle.

One or more memory units may be coupled to the generating system for storing the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment and to the communications device. The communications device then can interrogate the memory unit(s) upon a crash of the vehicle to thereby obtain the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment. In one particularly useful embodiment, a system for determining the health state of at least one occupant is provided, e.g., a heartbeat sensor, a motion sensor such as a micropower impulse radar sensor for detecting motion of the at least one occupant and motion sensor for determining whether the occupant(s) is/are breathing, and coupled to the communications device. The communications device can interrogate the health state determining system upon a crash of the vehicle, or some other event or even continuously, to thereby obtain and transmit the health state of the occupant(s). The health state determining system can also comprise a chemical sensor for analyzing the amount of carbon dioxide in the passenger compartment or around the at least one occupant or for detecting the presence of blood in the passenger compartment. Movement of the occupant can be determined by monitoring the weight distribution of the occupant(s), or an analysis of waves from the space occupied by the occupant(s). Each wave-receiving sensor generates a signal representative of the waves received thereby and the generating system may comprise a processor for receiving and analyzing the signal from the wave-receiving sensor in order to generate the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment. The processor can comprise a pattern recognition system for classifying an occupant of the seat so that the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment includes the classification of the occupant. The wave-receiving sensor may be a micropower impulse radar sensor adapted to detect motion of an occupant whereby the motion of the occupant or absence of motion of the occupant is indicative of whether the occupant is breathing. As such, the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment generated by the generating system is an indication of whether the occupant is breathing. Also, the wave-receiving sensor may generate a signal representative of the waves received thereby and the generating system receive this signal over time and determine whether any occupants in the passenger compartment are moving. As such, the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment generated by the generating system includes the number of moving and non-moving occupants in the passenger compartment.

A related method for obtaining and conveying information about occupancy of a passenger compartment of a vehicle comprises the steps of receiving waves from the passenger compartment, generating information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment based on the received waves, and transmitting the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment whereby response personnel can receive the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment. Waves may be transmitted into the passenger compartment whereby the transmitted waves are modified by passing into and at least partially through the passenger compartment and then received. The information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment may be stored in at least one memory unit which is subsequently interrogated upon a crash of the vehicle to thereby obtain the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment and thereafter the information with or without pictures of the passenger compartment before, during and/or after a crash or other event can be sent to a remote location such as an emergency services personnel station. A signal representative of the received waves can be generated by sensors and analyzed in order to generate the information about the state of health of at least one occupant of the passenger compartment and/or to generate the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment (i.e., determine non-reflexive movement and/or breathing indicating life). Pattern recognition techniques, e.g., a trained neural network, can be applied to analyze the signal and thereby recognize and identify any occupants of the passenger compartment. In this case, the identification of the occupants of the passenger compartment can be included into the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment.

Among the inventions disclosed herein is an arrangement for obtaining and conveying information about occupancy of a passenger compartment of a vehicle comprises at least one wave-receiving sensor for receiving waves from the passenger compartment, generating means coupled to the wave-receiving sensor(s) for generating information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment based on the waves received by the wave-receiving sensor(s) and communications means coupled to the generating means for transmitting the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment. As such, response personnel can receive the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment and respond appropriately, if necessary. There may be several wave-receiving sensors and they may be, e.g., ultrasonic wave-receiving sensors, electromagnetic wave-receiving sensors, capacitance or electric field sensors, or combinations thereof. The information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment can include the number of occupants in the passenger compartment, as well as whether each occupant is moving non-reflexively and breathing. A transmitter may be provided for transmitting waves into the passenger compartment such that each wave-receiving sensor receives waves transmitted from the transmitter and modified by passing into and at least partially through the passenger compartment. One or more memory units may be coupled to the generating means for storing the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment and to the communications means. The communications means then can interrogate the memory unit(s) upon a crash of the vehicle to thereby obtain the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment. In one particularly useful embodiment, means for determining the health state of at least one occupant are provided, e.g., a heartbeat sensor, a motion sensor such as a micropower impulse radar sensor for detecting motion of the at least one occupant and motion sensor for determining whether the occupant(s) is/are breathing, and coupled to the communications means. The communications means can interrogate the health state determining means upon a crash of the vehicle to thereby obtain and transmit the health state of the occupant(s). The health state determining means can also comprise a chemical sensor for analyzing the amount of carbon dioxide in the passenger compartment or around the at least one occupant or for detecting the presence of blood in the passenger compartment. Movement of the occupant can be determined by monitoring the weight distribution of the occupant(s), or an analysis of waves from the space occupied by the occupant(s). Each wave-receiving sensor generates a signal representative of the waves received thereby and the generating means may comprise a processor for receiving and analyzing the signal from the wave-receiving sensor in order to generate the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment. The processor can comprise pattern recognition means for classifying an occupant of the seat so that the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment includes the classification of the occupant. The wave-receiving sensor may be a micropower impulse radar sensor adapted to detect motion of an occupant whereby the motion of the occupant or absence of motion of the occupant is indicative of whether the occupant is breathing. As such, the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment generated by the generating means is an indication of whether the occupant is breathing. Also, the wave-receiving sensor may generate a signal representative of the waves received thereby and the generating means receive this signal over time and determine whether any occupants in the passenger compartment are moving. As such, the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment generated by the generating means includes the number of moving and non-moving occupants in the passenger compartment.

A related method for obtaining and conveying information about occupancy of a passenger compartment of a vehicle comprises the steps of receiving waves from the passenger compartment, generating information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment based on the received waves, and transmitting the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment whereby response personnel can receive the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment. Waves may be transmitted into the passenger compartment whereby the transmitted waves are modified by passing into and at least partially through the passenger compartment and then received. The information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment may be stored in at least one memory unit which is subsequently interrogated upon a crash of the vehicle to thereby obtain the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment. A signal representative of the received waves can be generated by sensors and analyzed in order to generate the information about the state of health of at least one occupant of the passenger compartment and/or to generate the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment (i.e., determine non-reflexive movement and/or breathing indicating life). Pattern recognition techniques, e.g., a trained neural network, can be applied to analyze the signal and thereby recognize and identify any occupants of the passenger compartment. In this case, the identification of the occupants of the passenger compartment can be included into the information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment.

All of the above-described methods and apparatus, as well as those further described below, may be used in conjunction with one another and in combination with the methods and apparatus for optimizing the driving conditions for the occupants of the vehicle described herein.

In order to achieve some of the above-listed objects, an arrangement for obtaining and conveying information about occupants in a vehicle includes a health state determining mechanism for determining the health state of any occupants in the vehicle, and a communications mechanism coupled to the health state determining mechanism and arranged to establish a communications channel between the vehicle and a remote facility to thereby enable the determined health state of the occupants to be transmitted to the remote facility.

The health state determining mechanism may include a heartbeat sensor, a sensor for detecting motion of the occupants such as a Micropower impulse radar sensor and/or an arrangement for detecting changes in the weight distribution of the occupants, a motion sensor for determining whether the occupants are breathing, a chemical sensor for analyzing the amount of carbon dioxide in the passenger compartment or around the occupants and/or a chemical sensor for detecting the presence of blood in the passenger compartment.

The health state determining mechanism may be designed to determine whether a driver's breathing is erratic or indicative of a state in which the driver is dozing. It may also include a breath-analyzer for analyzing the alcohol content in air expelled by the driver.

The arrangement can also include an alarm or warning light which can be activated by the remote facility over the established communications channel based on analysis of the transmitted health state of the occupant.

A vehicle including the above arrangement could thus include a vehicle component or subsystem which can be activated by the remote facility over the established communications channel based on analysis of the transmitted health state of the driver. For example, when the driver is abnormally operating the vehicle as evidenced by the determined health state, the vehicle component is activated by the remote facility. The component may be an audible alarm, a visible warning light, an automatic guidance system arranged to guide the vehicle out of the traffic stream or to a shoulder of a roadway and an ignition shutoff arranged to shut off the ignition.

A method for obtaining and conveying information about occupants in a vehicle entails determining the health state of any occupants in the vehicle and establishing a communications channel between the vehicle and a remote facility to enable the determined health state of the occupants to be transmitted to the remote facility. The health state may be determined by any of the sensors described above.

A method for preventing accidents in accordance with the invention entails determining the health state of a driver of the vehicle, establishing a communications channel between the vehicle and a remote facility to enable the determined health state of the driver to be transmitted to the remote facility and activating a vehicle component or subsystem by the remote facility over the established communications channel based on analysis of the transmitted health state of the driver. For example, when the driver is abnormally operating the vehicle as evidenced by the determined health state, the vehicle component is activated by the remote facility. The component may be an audible alarm, a visible warning light, an automatic guidance system arranged to guide the vehicle out of the traffic stream or to a shoulder of a roadway and an ignition shutoff arranged to shut off the ignition.

15.7 Entertainment

Disclosed herein is an arrangement for controlling audio reception by at least one occupant of a passenger compartment of the vehicle which comprises a monitoring system for determining the position of the occupant(s) and a sound generating system coupled to the monitoring system for generating specific sounds. The sound generating system is automatically adjustable based on the determined position of the occupant(s) such that the specific sounds are audible to the occupant(s). The sound generating system may utilize hypersonic sound, e.g., comprise one or more pairs of ultrasonic frequency generators for generating ultrasonic waves whereby for each pair, the ultrasonic frequency generators generate ultrasonic waves which mix to thereby create new audio frequencies. Each pair of ultrasonic frequency generators is controlled independently of the others so that each of the occupants is able to have different new audio frequencies created.

For noise cancellation purposes, the vehicle can include a system for detecting the presence and direction of unwanted noise whereby the sound generating system is coupled to the unwanted noise presence and detection system and direct sound to prevent reception of the unwanted noise by the occupant(s).

If the sound generating system comprises speakers, the speakers may be controllable based on the determined positions of the occupants such that at least one speaker directs sounds toward each occupant.

The monitoring system may be any type of system which is capable of determining the location of the occupant, or more specifically, the location of the head or ears of the occupants. For example, the monitoring system may comprise at least one wave-receiving sensor for receiving waves from the passenger compartment, and a processor coupled to the wave-receiving sensor(s) for determining the position of the occupant(s) based on the waves received by the wave-receiving sensor(s). The monitoring system can also determine the position of objects other than the occupants and control the sound generating system in consideration of the determined position of the objects.

A method for controlling audio reception by occupants in a vehicle comprises the steps of determining the position of at least one occupant of the vehicle, providing a sound generator for generating specific sounds and automatically adjusting the sound generator based on the determined position of the occupant(s) such that the specific sounds are audible to the occupant(s). The features of the arrangement described above may be used in the method.

Another arrangement for controlling audio reception by occupants of a passenger compartment of the vehicle comprises a monitoring system for determining the presence of any occupants and a sound generating system coupled to the monitoring system for generating specific sounds. The sound generating system is automatically adjustable based on the determined presence of any occupants such that the specific sounds are audible to any occupants present in the passenger compartment. The monitoring system and sound generating system may be as in the arrangement described above. However, in this case, the sound generating system is controlled based on the determined presence of the occupants. All of the above-described methods and apparatus may be used in conjunction with one another and in combination with the methods and apparatus for optimizing the driving conditions for the occupants of the vehicle described herein.

15.8 Vehicle Operation

Another invention disclosed herein is a system for controlling operation of a vehicle based on recognition of an authorized individual comprises a processor embodying a pattern recognition algorithm, as defined herein, trained to identify whether a person is an authorized individual by analyzing data derived from images and one or more optical receiving units for receiving an optical image including the person and deriving data from the image. Each optical receiving unit is coupled to the processor to provide the data to the pattern recognition algorithm to thereby obtain an indication from the pattern recognition algorithm whether the person is an authorized individual. A security system is arranged to enable operation of the vehicle when the pattern recognition algorithm provides an indication that the person is an individual authorized to operate the vehicle and prevent operation of the vehicle when the pattern recognition algorithm does not provide an indication that the person is an individual authorized to operate the vehicle. An optional optical transmitting unit is provided in the vehicle for transmitting electromagnetic energy and is arranged relative to the optical receiving unit(s) such that electromagnetic energy transmitted by the optical transmitting unit is reflected by the person and received by at least one of the optical receiving units. The optical receiving units may be selected from a group consisting of a CCD array, a CMOS array, a QWIP array, an active pixel camera and an HDRC camera. Other types of two or three-dimensional imagers can also be used.

A method for controlling operation of a vehicle based on recognition of a person as one of a set of authorized individuals comprises the steps of obtaining images including the authorized individuals by means of one or more optical receiving unit, deriving data from the images, training a pattern recognition algorithm on the data derived from the images which is capable of identifying a person as one of the individuals, then subsequently obtaining images by means of the optical receiving unit(s), inputting data derived from the images subsequently obtained by the optical receiving unit(s) into the pattern recognition algorithm to obtain an indication whether the person is one of the set of authorized individuals, and providing a security system which enables operation of the vehicle when the pattern recognition algorithm provides an indication that the person is one of the set of individuals authorized to operate the vehicle and prevents operation of the vehicle when the pattern recognition algorithm does not provide an indication that the person is one of the set of individuals authorized to operate the vehicle. The data derivation from the images may entail any number of image processing techniques including eliminating pixels from the images which are present in multiple images and comparing the images with stored arrays of pixels and eliminating pixels from the images which are present in the stored arrays of pixels. The method can also be used to control a vehicular component based on recognition of a person as one of a predetermined set of particular individuals. This method includes the step of affecting the component based on the indication from the pattern recognition algorithm whether the person is one of the set of individuals. The components may be one or more of the following: the mirrors, the seat, the anchorage point of the seatbelt, the airbag deployment parameters including inflation rate and pressure, inflation direction, deflation rate, time of inflation, the headrest, the steering wheel, the pedals, the entertainment system and the air-conditioning/ventilation system.

15.9 Exterior Monitoring

An exterior monitoring arrangement comprises an imaging device for obtaining three-dimensional images of the environment (internal and/or external) and a processor embodying a pattern recognition technique for processing the three-dimensional images to determine at least one characteristic of an object in the environment based on the three-dimensional images obtained by the imaging device. The imaging device can be arranged at locations throughout the vehicle as described above. Control of a reactive component is enabled by the determination of the characteristic of the object.

Another arrangement for monitoring objects in or about a vehicle comprises a generating device for generating a first signal having a first frequency in a specific radio frequency range, a wave transmitter arranged to receive the signal and transmit waves toward the objects, a wave-receiver arranged relative to the wave transmitter for receiving waves transmitted by the wave transmitter after the waves have interacted with an object, the wave receiver being arranged to generate a second signal based on the received waves at the same frequency as the first signal but shifted in phase, and a detector for detecting a phase difference between the first and second signals, whereby the phase difference is a measure of a property of the object. The phase difference is a measure of the distance between the object and the wave receiver and the wave transmitter. The wave transmitter may comprise an infrared driver and the receiver comprises an infrared diode.

A vehicle including an arrangement for measuring position of an object in an environment of or about the vehicle comprises a light source capable of directing modulated light into the environment, at least one light-receiving pixel arranged to receive the modulated light after reflection by any objects in the environment and a processor for determining the distance between any objects from which the modulated light is reflected and the light source based on the reception of the modulated light by the pixel(s). The pixels can constitute an array. Components for modulating a frequency of the light being directed by the light source into the environment and for providing a correlation pattern in a form of code division modulation of the light being directed by the light source into the environment can be provided. The pixel can also be a photo diode such as a PIN or avalanche diode. The light may be infrared light.

All of the above-described methods and apparatus may be used in conjunction with one another and in combination with the methods and apparatus for optimizing the driving conditions for the occupants of the vehicle described herein.

15.10 Diagnostics and Prognostics

To achieve at least one of the objects listed above, an asset including an arrangement for self-monitoring comprises an interior sensor system arranged on the asset to obtain information about contents in the interior of the asset, a location determining system arranged on the asset to monitor the location of the asset and a communication system arranged on the asset and coupled to the interior sensor system and the location determining system. The communication system operatively transmits the information about the contents in the interior of the asset and the location of the asset to a remote facility.

The interior sensor system may comprise at least one wave transmitter arranged to transmit waves into the interior of the asset and at least one wave receiver arranged to receive waves from the interior of the asset. A processor is also typically provided to compare waves received by the wave receiver(s) at different times or analyze the waves received by the wave receiver(s), preferably compensating for thermal gradients in the interior of the asset in an appropriate manner. To conserve power, a door status sensor is arranged to detect when the door is closed after having been opened with the wave transmitter(s) being coupled to the door status sensor and transmitting waves into the interior of the asset only when the door status sensor detects when the door is closed after having been opened.

The interior sensor system can also comprise an RFID or SAW transmitter and receiver unit arranged to transmit signals into the interior of the asset and receive signals from RFID or SAW devices present in the interior of the asset. The interior sensor system can also comprise an optical barcode reader arranged to transmit light into the interior of the asset and receive light reflected from any barcodes present on objects in the interior of the asset.

The interior sensor system may be designed and constructed to determine the presence of objects and/or motion in the interior of the asset. It may also comprise at least one imager arranged to obtain images of the interior of the asset, in which case, a processor optionally embodying a pattern recognition system obtains information about the contents from the images obtained by the imager(s).

An inertial device may be coupled to the interior sensor system for detecting movement of the asset. The interior sensor system would receive information about movement of the asset and analyze the movement of the asset with the detected motion within the interior of the asset to ascertain whether the detected motion is caused by the movement of the asset or by independent movement of the contents in the interior of the asset.

Sensors included in the interior sensor system, may include at least one chemical sensor, a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a carbon dioxide sensor, a humidity sensor, a hydrocarbon sensor, a narcotics sensor, a mercury vapor sensor, a radioactivity sensor, a microphone and a light sensor. Another possible sensor is at least one weight sensor for measuring the weight of the contents of the asset or the distribution of weight in the interior of the asset. Still other possible sensors include inertial, acceleration, gyroscopic, ultrasonic, radar, electric field, magnetic, velocity, displacement among others. Any of the foregoing sensors can be provided with a diagnostic capability or self-diagnostic capability.

The interior sensor system may be designed to utilize a pattern recognition technique, neural network, modular neural network, combination neural network, fuzzy logic and the like that can be used to reduce the information about the contents in the interior of the asset to a minimum. Such techniques could also be used to reduce the information transmitted by the communication system to a minimum.

The interior sensor system can include an initiation device for periodically initiating the interior sensor system to obtain information about the contents in the interior of the asset. A wakeup sensor system can be provided for detecting the occurrence of an internal or external event requiring instantaneous or a change in the monitoring rate of the interior of the asset. The initiation device is coupled to the wakeup sensor system and arranged to change the rate at which it initiates the interior sensor system to obtain information about the contents in the interior of the asset in response to the detected occurrence of an internal or external event by the wakeup sensor system.

If the asset includes a motion or vibration detection system arranged to detect motion or vibration of the asset, the interior sensor system is optionally coupled thereto and arranged to detect information about the contents of the interior of the asset only after the asset is determined to have moved or vibrated from a stationary position.

If the asset includes a wakeup sensor system for detecting the occurrence of an internal or external event relating to the condition or location of the asset, the communication system is optionally coupled to the wakeup sensor system and arranged to transmit a signal relating to the detected occurrence of an internal or external event.

The asset can include a memory unit for storing data relating to the location of the asset and the contents in the interior of the asset. The memory unit can be arranged to store data relating to the opening and closing of the door, as determined by a door status sensor, in conjunction with the location of the asset and the contents in the interior of the asset.

If the asset includes a motion sensor arranged on the asset for monitoring motion of the asset, it can also include an alarm or warning system coupled to the motion sensor and activated when the motion sensor detects a potentially or actually dangerous motion of the asset.

The asset can also include one or more environment sensors arranged on the asset to measure a property of the environment in which the asset is situated, with such property being storable in a memory unit or transmittable in association with the location of the asset.

An exterior monitoring system for monitoring the area in the vicinity of the asset can also be provided. In this case, the exterior monitoring system can comprise an ultrasound sensor, imagers such as cameras both with and without illumination including visual, infrared or ultraviolet imagers, scanners, other types of sensors which sense other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, capacitive sensors, electric or magnetic field sensors, laser radar, radar, phased array radar and chemical sensors, among others.

Another arrangement for monitoring an asset in accordance with the invention comprises a location determining system arranged on the asset to monitor the location of the asset, at least one environment sensor arranged on the asset to obtain information about the environment in which the asset is located and a communication system arranged on the asset and coupled to the environment sensor(s) and the location determining system. The communication system transmits the information about the location of the asset and the environment in which the asset is located to a remote facility. Other features of this arrangement include those mentioned above in the previous embodiment of the invention.

A method for monitoring movable assets and contents in the assets in accordance with the invention comprises the steps of assigning a unique identification code to each asset, determining the location of each asset, determining at least one property or characteristic of the contents of each asset, and transmitting the location of each asset along with the property(ies) or characteristic(s) of the contents of the asset to a data processing facility to form a database of information about the use of the assets or for retransmission to another location such as via the Internet. Determining a property or characteristic of the contents of each asset may entail determining the weight of the contents of the asset and/or determining the weight distribution of the contents of the asset, optionally utilizing the determined weight of the contents of the asset and/or the determined weight distribution of the contents of the asset and the known weight and weight distribution of the asset without contents.

At least one sensor may be arranged on each asset to determine a condition of the environment in the vicinity of the asset and the condition of the environment in the vicinity of the assets transmitted to the data processing for inclusion in the database or for retransmission. The sensor(s) can be constructed to measure or detect the exposure of the asset to excessive heat, exposure of the asset to excessive cold, vibrations of the asset, exposure of the asset to water and/or exposure of the asset to hazardous material.

At least one sensor may be arranged on each asset to determine a condition of the environment of the interior of the asset and the condition of the environment of the interior of the assets transmitted to the data processing facility for inclusion in the database or for retransmission. The sensor(s) can be constructed to measure or detect the presence of excessive heat in the interior of the asset, the presence of excessive cold in the interior of the asset, vibrations of the asset, the presence of water in the interior of the asset and/or the presence of hazardous material in the interior of the asset.

A responsive identification tag may be provided on individual cargo items at least when present in one of the assets and an initiation and reception device arranged in or on each asset to cause the identification tag on each cargo item in the asset to generate a responsive signal containing data on the cargo item when initiated by the initiation and reception device. Periodically, the initiation and reception device is initiated and the responsive signals from the cargo items received to thereby obtain information about the identification of the cargo items. The information about the identification of the cargo items is then transmitted to the data processing facility for inclusion in the database or for retransmission. The information about the identification of the cargo items received from each asset can be compared to pre-determined information about the identification of the cargo items in that asset. An alert may be generated upon the detection of differences between the information about the identification of the cargo items received from each asset and the pre-determined information about the identification of the cargo items in that asset.

A memory unit may be provided on each asset that may store information about the location of each asset along with the property or characteristic of the contents of the asset in the memory unit.

An optically readable identification code may be provided on individual cargo items at least when present in one of the assets and an initiation and reception device arranged in or on each asset to cause the identification code on each cargo items in the asset to provide a responsive pattern of light containing data on the cargo item when initiated by the initiation and reception device. Periodically, the initiation and reception device is initiated when the cargo items are in a position to direct light to the identification code on the cargo item. The responsive patterns of light are consequently received from the cargo items to thereby obtain information about the identification of the cargo items. The information about the identification of the cargo items may be transmitted to the data processing facility for inclusion in the database or otherwise processed and/or retransmitted. Optionally, the information about the identification of the cargo items received from each asset is compared to pre-determined information about the identification of the cargo items in that asset. An alert can thus be generated upon the detection of differences between the information about the identification of the cargo items received from each asset and the pre-determined information about the identification of the cargo items in that asset.

Openings and closings of each door of each asset can be detected such that the information about the openings and closings of each door is transmitted to the data processing for inclusion in the database or retransmitted.

To conserve power, closure of each door can be detected and the property or characteristic of the contents of each asset determined only after closure of the door is detected.

Information about an implement or individual moving the asset can be obtained and transmitted to the data processing facility for inclusion in the database or retransmission. This will keep tabs on the personnel or implements involved in the transfer, handling and movement of the asset.

Another method for monitoring movable assets and contents in the assets comprises mounting a portable, replaceable cell phone or PDA having a location providing function and a low duty cycle to the asset, enabling communications between the cell phone or PDA and the asset to enable the cell phone or PDA to obtain information about the asset and/or its contents (such as an identification number or other information obtained by various sensors associated with the asset) and establishing a communications channel between the cell phone or PDA and a location remote from the asset to enable the information about the asset and/or its contents to be transmitted to the remote location. The cell phone or PA may be coupled to a battery fixed to the asset to extend its operational life. When a cell phone is mounted to the asset, and includes a sound-receiving component, the cell phone can be provided with a pattern recognition system to recognize events relating to the asset based on sounds received by the sound-receiving component.

Also described herein is an embodiment of a component diagnostic system for diagnosing the component in accordance with the invention which comprises a plurality of sensors not directly associated with the component, i.e., independent therefrom, such that the component does not directly affect the sensors, each sensor detecting a signal containing information as to whether the component is operating normally or abnormally and outputting a corresponding electrical signal, processor means coupled to the sensors for receiving and processing the electrical signals and for determining if the component is operating abnormally based on the electrical signals, and output means coupled to the processor means for affecting another system within the vehicle if the component is operating abnormally. The processor means preferably comprise pattern recognition means such as a trained pattern recognition algorithm, a neural network, modular neural networks, an ensemble of neural networks, a cellular neural network, or a support vector machine. In some cases, fuzzy logic will be used which can be combined with a neural network to form a neural fuzzy algorithm. The another system may be a display for indicating the abnormal state of operation of the component arranged in a position in the vehicle to enable a driver of the vehicle to view the display and thus the indicated abnormal operation of the component. At least one source of additional information, e.g., the time and date, may be provided and input means coupled to the vehicle for inputting the additional information into the processor means. The another system may also be a warning device including transmission means for transmitting information related to the component abnormal operating state to a site remote from the vehicle, e.g., a vehicle repair facility.

In another embodiment of the component diagnostic system discussed herein, at least one sensor detects a signal containing information as to whether the component is operating normally or abnormally and outputs a corresponding electrical signal. A processor or other computing device is coupled to the sensor(s) for receiving and processing the electrical signal(s) and for determining if the component is operating abnormally based thereon. The processor preferably comprises or embodies a pattern recognition algorithm for analyzing a pattern within the signal detected by each sensor. An output device (or multiple output devices) is coupled to the processor for affecting another system within the vehicle if the component is operating abnormally. The other system may be a display as mentioned above or a warning device.

A method for automatically monitoring one or more components of a vehicle during operation of the vehicle on a roadway entails, as discussed above, the steps of monitoring operation of the component in order to detect abnormal operation of the component, e.g., in one or the ways described above, and if abnormal operation of the component is detected, automatically directing the vehicle off of the restricted roadway. For example, in order to automatically direct the vehicle off of the restricted roadway, a signal representative of the abnormal operation of the component may be generated and directed to a guidance system of the vehicle that guides the movement of the vehicle. Possibly the directing the vehicle off of the restricted roadway may entail applying satellite positioning techniques or ground-based positioning techniques to enable the current position of the vehicle to be determined and a location off of the restricted highway to be determined and thus a path for the movement of the vehicle. Re-entry of the vehicle onto the restricted roadway may be prevented until the abnormal operation of the component is satisfactorily addressed.

Also disclosed herein is a vehicle including a diagnostic system arranged to diagnose the state of the vehicle or the state of a component of the vehicle and generate an output indicative or representative thereof and a communications device coupled to the diagnostic system and arranged to transmit the output of the diagnostic system. The diagnostic system may comprise a plurality of vehicle sensors mounted on the vehicle, each sensor providing a measurement related to a state of the sensor or a measurement related to a state of the mounting location, and a processor coupled to the sensors and arranged to receive data from the sensors and process the data to generate the output indicative or representative of the state of the vehicle or the state of a component of the vehicle. The sensors may be wirelessly coupled to the processor and arranged at different locations on the vehicle. The processor may embody a pattern recognition algorithm trained to generate the output from the data received from the sensors, such as a neural network, fuzzy logic, sensor fusion and the like, and be arranged to control one or more parts of the vehicle based on the output indicative or representative of the state of the vehicle or the state of a component of the vehicle. The state of the vehicle can include angular motion of the vehicle. A display may be arranged in the vehicle in a position to be visible from the passenger compartment. Such as display is coupled to the diagnostic system and arranged to display the diagnosis of the state of the vehicle or the state of a component of the vehicle. A warning device may also be coupled to the diagnostic system for relaying a warning to an occupant of the vehicle relating to the state of the vehicle or the state of the component of the vehicle as diagnosed by the diagnostic system. The communications device may comprise a cellular telephone system including an antenna as well as other similar or different electronic equipment capable of transmitting a signal to a remote location, optionally via a satellite. Transmission via the Internet, i.e., to a web site or host computer associated with the remote location is also a possibility for the invention. If the vehicle is considered its own site, then the transmission would be a site-to-site transmission via the Internet.

An occupant sensing system can be provided to determine at least one property or characteristic of occupancy of the vehicle. In this case, the communications device is coupled to the occupant sensing system and transmits the determined property or characteristic of occupancy of the vehicle. In a similar manner, at least one environment sensor can be provided, each sensing a state of the environment around the vehicle. In this case, the communications device is coupled to the environment sensor(s) and transmits the sensed state of the environment around the vehicle. Moreover, a location determining system, optionally incorporating GPS technology, could be provided on the vehicle to determine the location of the vehicle and transmitted to the remote location along with the diagnosis of the state of the vehicle or its component. A memory unit may be coupled to the diagnostic system and the communications device. The memory unit receives the diagnosis of the state of the vehicle or the state of a component of the vehicle from the diagnostic system and stores the diagnosis. The communications device then interrogates the memory unit to obtain the stored diagnosis to enable transmission thereof, e.g., at periodic intervals. The sensors may be any known type of sensor including, but not limited to, a single axis acceleration sensor, a double axis acceleration sensor, a triaxial acceleration sensor and a gyroscope. The sensors may include an RFID response unit and an RFID interrogator device which causes the RFID response units to transmit a signal representative of the measurement of the associated sensor to the processor. In addition to or instead or an RFID-based system, one or more SAW sensors can be arranged on the vehicle, each receiving a signal and returning a signal modified by virtue of the state of the sensor or the state of the mounting location of the sensor. For example, the SAW sensor can measure temperature and/or pressure of a component of the vehicle or in a certain location or space on the vehicle, or the concentration and/or presence of a chemical.

A method for monitoring a vehicle comprises diagnosing the state of the vehicle or the state of a component of the vehicle by means of a diagnostic system arranged on the vehicle, generating an output indicative or representative of the diagnosed state of the vehicle or the diagnosed state of the component of the vehicle, and transmitting the output to a remote location. Transmission of the output to a remote location may entail arranging a communications device comprising a cellular telephone system including an antenna on the vehicle. The output may be to a satellite for transmission from the satellite to the remote location. The output could also be transmitted via the Internet to a web site or host computer associated with the remote location.

It is important to note that raw sensor data is not generally transmitted from the vehicle the remote location for analysis and processing by the devices and/or personnel at the remote location. Rather, in accordance with the invention, a diagnosis of the vehicle or the vehicle component is performed on the vehicle itself and this resultant diagnosis is transmitted. The diagnosis of the state of the vehicle may encompass determining whether the vehicle is stable or is about to rollover or skid and/or determining a location of an impact between the vehicle and another object. A display may be arranged in the vehicle in a position to be visible from the passenger compartment in which case, the state of the vehicle or the state of a component of the vehicle is displayed thereon. Further, a warning can be relayed to an occupant of the vehicle relating to the state of the vehicle. In addition to the transmission of vehicle diagnostic information obtained by analysis of data from sensors performed on the vehicle, at least one property or characteristic of occupancy of the vehicle may be determined (such as the number of occupants, the status of the occupants-breathing or not, injured or not, etc.) and transmitted to a remote location, the same or a different remote location to which the diagnostic information is sent. The information can also be sent in a different manner than the information relating to the diagnosis of the vehicle.

Additional information for transmission by the components on the vehicle may include a state of the environment around the vehicle, for example, the temperature, pressure, humidity, etc. in the vicinity of the vehicle, and the location of the vehicle. A memory unit may be provided in the vehicle, possibly as part of a microprocessor, and arranged to receive the diagnosis of the state of the vehicle or the state of the component of the vehicle and store the diagnosis. As such, this memory unit can be periodically interrogated to obtain the stored diagnosis to enable transmission thereof.

Diagnosis of the state of the vehicle or the state of the component of the vehicle may entail mounting a plurality of sensors on the vehicle, measuring a state of each sensor or a state of the mounting location of each sensor and diagnosing the state of the vehicle or the state of a component of the vehicle based on the measurements of the state of the sensors or the state of the mounting locations of the sensors. These functions can be achieved by a processor which is wirelessly coupled to the sensors. The sensors can optionally be provided with RFID technology, i.e., an RFID response unit, whereby an RFID interrogator device is mounted on the vehicle and signals transmitted via the RFID interrogator device causes the RFID response units of any properly equipped sensors to transmit a signal representative of the measurements of that sensor to the processor. SAW sensors can also be used, in addition to, is part of or instead of RFID-based sensors.

One embodiment of the diagnostic module in accordance with the invention utilizes information which already exists in signals emanating from various vehicle components along with sensors which sense these signals and, using pattern recognition techniques, compares these signals with patterns characteristic of normal and abnormal component performance to predict component failure, vehicle instability or a crash earlier than would otherwise occur if the diagnostic module was not utilized. If fully implemented, at least one of the inventions disclosed herein is a total diagnostic system of the vehicle. In most implementations, the module is attached to the vehicle and electrically connected to the vehicle data bus where it analyzes data appearing on the bus, as well as other information, to diagnose components of the vehicle. In some implementations, one or more distributed accelerometers and/or microphones are present on the vehicle and, in some cases, some of the sensors will communicate using wireless technology to the vehicle bus or directly to the diagnostic module.

In other embodiments disclosed herein, the state of the entire vehicle is diagnosed whereby two or more sensors, preferably acceleration sensors and gyroscopes, detect the state of the vehicle and if the state is abnormal, output means are coupled to the processor means for affecting another system in the vehicle. The another system may be the steering control system, the brake system, the accelerator or the frontal or side occupant protection system. An exemplifying control system for controlling a part of the vehicle in accordance with the invention thus comprises a plurality of sensor systems mounted at different locations on the vehicle, each sensor system providing a measurement related to a state of the sensor system or a measurement related to a state of the mounting location, and a processor coupled to the sensor systems and arranged to diagnose the state of the vehicle based on the measurements of the sensor system, e.g., by the application of a pattern recognition technique. The processor controls the part based at least in part on the diagnosed state of the vehicle. At least one of the sensor systems may be a high dynamic range accelerometer or a sensor selected from a group consisting of a single axis acceleration sensor, a double axis acceleration sensor, a triaxial acceleration sensor and a gyroscope, and may optionally include an RFID response unit. The gyroscope may be a MEMS-IDT gyroscope including a surface acoustic wave resonator which applies standing waves on a piezoelectric substrate. If an RFID response unit is present, the control system would then comprise an RFID interrogator device which causes the RFID response unit(s) to transmit a signal representative of the measurement of the sensor system associated therewith to the processor.

The state of the vehicle diagnosed by the processor may be the vehicle's angular motion, angular acceleration and/or angular velocity. As such, the steering system, braking system or throttle system may be controlled by the processor in order to maintain the stability of the vehicle. The processor can also be arranged to control an occupant restraint or protection device in an attempt to minimize injury to an occupant.

The state of the vehicle diagnosed by the processor may also be a determination of a location of an impact between the vehicle and another object. In this case, the processor can forecast the severity of the impact using the force/crush properties of the vehicle at the impact location and control an occupant restraint or protection device based at least in part on the severity of the impact.

The system can also include a weight sensing system coupled to a seat in the vehicle for sensing the weight of an occupying item of the seat. The weight sensing system is coupled to the processor whereby the processor controls deployment or actuation of the occupant restraint or protection device based on the state of the vehicle and the weight of the occupying item of the seat sensed by the weight sensing system.

A display may be coupled to the processor for displaying an indication of the state of the vehicle as diagnosed by the processor. A warning device may be coupled to the processor for relaying a warning to an occupant of the vehicle relating to the state of the vehicle as diagnosed by the processor. Further, a transmission device may be coupled to the processor for transmitting a signal to a remote site relating to the state of the vehicle as diagnosed by the processor.

The state of the vehicle diagnosed by the processor may include angular acceleration of the vehicle whereby angular velocity and angular position or orientation are derivable from the angular acceleration. The processor can then be arranged to control the vehicle's navigation system based on the angular acceleration of the vehicle.

A method for controlling a part of the vehicle in accordance with the invention comprises the step of mounting a plurality of sensor systems at different locations on the vehicle, measuring a state of the sensor system or a state of the respective mounting location of the sensor system, diagnosing the state of the vehicle based on the measurements of the state of the sensor systems or the state of the mounting locations of the sensor systems, and controlling the part based at least in part on the diagnosed state of the vehicle. The state of the sensor system may be any one or more of the acceleration, angular acceleration, angular velocity or angular orientation of the sensor system. Diagnosis of the state of the vehicle may entail determining whether the vehicle is stable or is about to rollover or skid and/or determining a location of an impact between the vehicle and another object. Diagnosis of the state of the vehicle may also entail determining angular acceleration of the vehicle based on the acceleration measured by accelerometers if multiple accelerometers are present as the sensor systems.

Another control system for controlling a part of the vehicle in accordance with the invention comprises a plurality of sensor systems mounted on the vehicle, each providing a measurement of a state of the sensor system or a state of the mounting location of the sensor system and generating a signal representative of the measurement, and a pattern recognition system for receiving the signals from the sensor systems and diagnosing the state of the vehicle based on the measurements of the sensor systems. The pattern recognition system generates a control signal for controlling the part based at least in part on the diagnosed state of the vehicle. The pattern recognition system may comprise one or more neural networks. The features of the control system described above may also be incorporated into this control system to the extent feasible.

The state of the vehicle diagnosed by the pattern recognition system may include a state of an abnormally operating component whereby the pattern recognition system is designed to identify a potentially malfunctioning component based on the state of the component measured by the sensor systems and determine whether the identified component is operating abnormally based on the state of the component measured by the sensor systems.

In one preferred embodiment, the pattern recognition system may comprise a neural network system and the state of the vehicle diagnosed by the neural network system includes a state of an abnormally operating component. The neural network system includes a first neural network for identifying a potentially malfunctioning component based on the state of the component measured by the sensor systems and a second neural network for determining whether the identified component is operating abnormally based on the state of the component measured by the sensor systems.

Modular neural networks can also be used whereby the neural network system includes a first neural network arranged to identify a potentially malfunctioning component based on the state of the component measured by the sensor systems and a plurality of additional neural networks. Each of the additional neural networks is trained to determine whether a specific component is operating abnormally so that the measurements of the state of the component from the sensor systems are input into that one of the additional neural networks trained on a component which is substantially identical to the identified component.

Another method for controlling a part of the vehicle comprises the steps of mounting a plurality of sensor systems on the vehicle, measuring a state of the sensor system or a state of the respective mounting location of the sensor system, generating signals representative of the measurements of the sensor systems, inputting the signals into a pattern recognition system to obtain a diagnosis of the state of the vehicle and controlling the part based at least in part on the diagnosis of the state of the vehicle.

In one notable embodiment, a potentially malfunctioning component is identified by the pattern recognition system based on the states measured by the sensor systems and the pattern recognition system determine whether the identified component is operating abnormally based on the states measured by the sensor systems. If the pattern recognition system comprises a neural network system, identification of the component entails inputting the states measured by the sensor systems into a first neural network of the neural network system and the determination of whether the identified component is operating abnormally entails inputting the states measured by the sensor systems into a second neural network of the neural network system. A modular neural network system can also be applied in which the states measured by the sensor systems are input into a first neural network and a plurality of additional neural networks are provided, each being trained to determine whether a specific component is operating abnormally, whereby the states measured by the sensor systems are input into that one of the additional neural networks trained on a component which is substantially identical to the identified component.

15.11 Truck Trailer, Cargo Container and Railroad Car Monitoring

The monitoring techniques described above can also be modified to monitor truck trailers, cargo containers and railroad cars.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings are illustrative of embodiments of the system developed or adapted using the teachings of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein and are not meant to limit the scope of the invention as encompassed by the claims. In particular, the illustrations below are frequently limited to the monitoring of the front passenger seat for the purpose of describing the system. Naturally, the invention applies as well to adapting the system to the other seating positions in the vehicle and particularly to the driver and rear passenger positions.

FIG. 1 is a side view with parts cutaway and removed of a vehicle showing the passenger compartment containing a rear facing child seat on the front passenger seat and a preferred mounting location for an occupant and rear facing child seat presence detector including an antenna field sensor and a resonator or reflector placed onto the forward most portion of the child seat.

FIG. 2 is a side view with parts cutaway and removed showing schematically the interface between the vehicle interior monitoring system of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein and the vehicle cellular or other telematics communication system including an antenna field sensor.

FIG. 3 is a side view with parts cutaway and removed of a vehicle showing the passenger compartment containing a box on the front passenger seat and a preferred mounting location for an occupant and rear facing child seat presence detector and including an antenna field sensor.

FIG. 4 is a side view with parts cutaway and removed of a vehicle showing the passenger compartment containing a driver and a preferred mounting location for an occupant identification system and including an antenna field sensor and an inattentiveness response button.

FIG. 5 is a side view, with certain portions removed or cut away, of a portion of the passenger compartment of a vehicle showing several preferred mounting locations of occupant position sensors for sensing the position of the vehicle driver.

FIG. 6 shows a seated-state detecting unit in accordance with the present invention and the connections between ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors, a weight sensor, a reclining angle detecting sensor, a seat track position detecting sensor, a heartbeat sensor, a motion sensor, a neural network, and an airbag system installed within a vehicle compartment.

FIG. 6A is an illustration as in FIG. 6 with the replacement of a strain gage weight sensor within a cavity within the seat cushion for the bladder weight sensor of FIG. 6.

FIG. 6B is a schematic showing the manner in which dynamic forces of the vehicle can be compensated for in a weight measurement of the occupant.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a vehicle showing the position of the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors relative to the driver and front passenger seats.

FIG. 8A is a side planar view, with certain portions removed or cut away, of a portion of the passenger compartment of a vehicle showing several preferred mounting locations of interior vehicle monitoring sensors shown particularly for sensing the vehicle driver illustrating the wave pattern from a CCD or CMOS optical position sensor mounted along the side of the driver or centered above his or her head.

FIG. 8B is a view as in FIG. 8A illustrating the wave pattern from an optical system using an infrared light source and a CCD or CMOS array receiver using the windshield as a reflection surface and showing schematically the interface between the vehicle interior monitoring system of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein and an instrument panel mounted inattentiveness warning light or buzzer and reset button.

FIG. 8C is a view as in FIG. 8A illustrating the wave pattern from an optical system using an infrared light source and a CCD or CMOS array receiver where the CCD or CMOS array receiver is covered by a lens permitting a wide angle view of the contents of the passenger compartment.

FIG. 8D is a view as in FIG. 8A illustrating the wave pattern from a pair of small CCD or CMOS array receivers and one infrared transmitter where the spacing of the CCD or CMOS arrays permits an accurate measurement of the distance to features on the occupant.

FIG. 8E is a view as in FIG. 8A illustrating the wave pattern from a set of ultrasonic transmitter/receivers where the spacing of the transducers and the phase of the signal permits an accurate focusing of the ultrasonic beam and thus the accurate measurement of a particular point on the surface of the driver.

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of the seated-state detecting unit of the present invention.

FIGS. 10(a), 10(b) and 10(c) are each a diagram showing the configuration of the reflected waves of an ultrasonic wave transmitted from each transmitter of the ultrasonic sensors toward the passenger seat, obtained within the time that the reflected wave arrives at a receiver, FIG. 10(a) showing an example of the reflected waves obtained when a passenger is in a normal seated-state, FIG. 10(b) showing an example of the reflected waves obtained when a passenger is in an abnormal seated-state (where the passenger is seated too close to the instrument panel), and FIG. 10(c) showing a transmit pulse.

FIG. 11 is a diagram of the data processing of the reflected waves from the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors.

FIG. 12A is a functional block diagram of the ultrasonic imaging system illustrated in FIG. 1 using a microprocessor, DSP or field programmable gate array (FGPA). 12B is a functional block diagram of the ultrasonic imaging system illustrated in FIG. 1 using an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

FIG. 13 is a cross section view of a steering wheel and airbag module assembly showing a preferred mounting location of an ultrasonic wave generator and receiver.

FIG. 14 is a partial cutaway view of a seatbelt retractor with a spool out sensor utilizing a shaft encoder.

FIG. 15 is a side view of a portion of a seat and seat rail showing a seat position sensor utilizing a potentiometer.

FIG. 16 is a circuit schematic illustrating the use of the occupant position sensor in conjunction with the remainder of the inflatable restraint system.

FIG. 17 is a schematic illustrating the circuit of an occupant position-sensing device using a modulated infrared signal, beat frequency and phase detector system.

FIG. 18 a flowchart showing the training steps of a neural network.

FIG. 19(a) is an explanatory diagram of a process for normalizing the reflected wave and shows normalized reflected waves.

FIG. 19(b) is a diagram similar to FIG. 19(a) showing a step of extracting data based on the normalized reflected waves and a step of weighting the extracted data by employing the data of the seat track position detecting sensor, the data of the reclining angle detecting sensor, and the data of the weight sensor.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the interior of the passenger compartment of an automobile, with parts cut away and removed, showing a variety of transmitters that can be used in a phased array system.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a vehicle containing an adult occupant and an occupied infant seat on the front seat with the vehicle shown in phantom illustrating one preferred location of the transducers placed according to the methods taught in at least one of the inventions disclosed herein.

FIG. 22 is a schematic illustration of a system for controlling operation of a vehicle or a component thereof based on recognition of an authorized individual.

FIG. 23 is a schematic illustration of a method for controlling operation of a vehicle based on recognition of an individual.

FIG. 24 is a schematic illustration of the environment monitoring in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of an occupant sensing strategy for a single camera optical system.

FIG. 26 is a processing block diagram of the example of FIG. 25.

FIG. 27 is a block diagram of an antenna-based near field object discriminator.

FIG. 28 is a perspective view of a vehicle containing two adult occupants on the front seat with the vehicle shown in phantom illustrating one preferred location of the transducers placed according to the methods taught in at least one of the inventions disclosed herein.

FIG. 29 is a view as in FIG. 28 with the passenger occupant replaced by a child in a forward facing child seat.

FIG. 30 is a view as in FIG. 28 with the passenger occupant replaced by a child in a rearward facing child seat.

FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating the interaction of two ultrasonic sensors and how this interaction is used to locate a circle is space.

FIG. 32 is a view as in FIG. 28 with the occupants removed illustrating the location of two circles in space and how they intersect the volumes characteristic of a rear facing child seat and a larger occupant.

FIG. 38 is a side view, with certain portions removed or cut away, of a portion of the passenger compartment of a vehicle showing preferred mounting locations of optical interior vehicle monitoring sensors

FIG. 39 is a side view with parts cutaway and removed of a subject vehicle and an oncoming vehicle, showing the headlights of the oncoming vehicle and the passenger compartment of the subject vehicle, containing detectors of the driver's eyes and detectors for the headlights of the oncoming vehicle and the selective filtering of the light of the approaching vehicle's headlights through the use of electro-chromic glass, organic or metallic semiconductor polymers or electropheric particulates (SPD) in the windshield.

FIG. 39A is an enlarged view of the section 39A in FIG. 39.

FIG. 40 is a side view with parts cutaway and removed of a vehicle and a following vehicle showing the headlights of the following vehicle and the passenger compartment of the leading vehicle containing a driver and a preferred mounting location for driver eyes and following vehicle headlight detectors and the selective filtering of the light of the following vehicle's headlights through the use of electrochromic glass, SPD glass or equivalent, in the rear view mirror. FIG. 40B is an enlarged view of the section designated 40A in FIG. 40.

FIG. 41 illustrates the interior of a passenger compartment with a rear view mirror, a camera for viewing the eyes of the driver and a large generally transparent visor for glare filtering.

FIG. 42 is a perspective view of a seat shown in phantom, with a movable headrest and sensors for measuring the height of the occupant from the vehicle seat, and a weight sensor shown mounted onto the seat.

FIG. 42A is a view taken along line 42A-42A in FIG. 42.

FIG. 42B is an enlarged view of the section designated 42B in FIG. 42.

FIG. 42C is a view of another embodiment of a seat with a weight sensor similar to the view shown in FIG. 42A.

FIG. 42D is a view of another embodiment of a seat with a weight sensor in which a SAW strain gage is placed on the bottom surface of the cushion.

FIG. 43 is a perspective view of a one embodiment of an apparatus for measuring the weight of an occupying item of a seat illustrating weight sensing transducers mounted on a seat control mechanism portion which is attached directly to the seat.

FIG. 44 illustrates a seat structure with the seat cushion and back cushion removed illustrating a three-slide attachment of the seat to the vehicle and preferred mounting locations on the seat structure for strain measuring weight sensors of an apparatus for measuring the weight of an occupying item of a seat in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 44A illustrates an alternate view of the seat structure transducer mounting location taken in the circle 44A of FIG. 44 with the addition of a gusset and where the strain gage is mounted onto the gusset.

FIG. 44B illustrates a mounting location for a weight sensing transducer on a centralized transverse support member in an apparatus for measuring the weight of an occupying item of a seat in accordance with the invention.

FIGS. 45A, 45B and 45C illustrate three alternate methods of mounting strain transducers of an apparatus for measuring the weight of an occupying item of a seat in accordance with the invention onto a tubular seat support structural member.

FIG. 47A is a perspective view of a cantilevered beam type load cell for use with the weight measurement system of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein for mounting locations of FIG. 47, for example.

FIG. 47B is a perspective view of a simply supported beam type load cell for use with the weight measurement system of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein as an alternate to the cantilevered load cell of FIG. 47A.

FIG. 47C is an enlarged view of the portion designated 47C in FIG. 47B.

FIG. 47D is a perspective view of a tubular load cell for use with the weight measurement system of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein as an alternate to the cantilevered load cell of FIG. 47A.

FIG. 47E is a perspective view of a torsional beam load cell for use with the weight measurement apparatus in accordance with the invention as an alternate to the cantilevered load cell of FIG. 47A.

FIG. 48 is a perspective view of an automatic seat adjustment system, with the seat shown in phantom, with a movable headrest and sensors for measuring the height of the occupant from the vehicle seat showing motors for moving the seat and a control circuit connected to the sensors and motors.

FIG. 49 is a view of the seat of FIG. 48 showing a system for changing the stiffness and the damping of the seat.

FIG. 49A is a view of the seat of FIG. 48 wherein the bladder contains a plurality of chambers.

FIG. 50 is a side view with parts cutaway and removed of a vehicle showing the passenger compartment containing a front passenger and a preferred mounting location for an occupant head detector and a preferred mounting location of an adjustable microphone and speakers and including an antenna field sensor in the headrest for a rear of occupant's head locator for use with a headrest adjustment system to reduce whiplash injuries, in particular, in rear impact crashes.

FIG. 51 is a schematic illustration of a method in which the occupancy state of a seat of a vehicle is determined using a combination neural network in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 52 is a schematic illustration of a method in which the identification and position of the occupant is determined using a combination neural network in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 53 is a schematic illustration of a method in which the occupancy state of a seat of a vehicle is determined using a combination neural network in accordance with the invention in which bad data is prevented from being used to determine the occupancy state of the vehicle.

FIG. 54 is a schematic illustration of another method in which the occupancy state of a seat of a vehicle is determined, in particular, for the case when a child seat is present, using a combination neural network in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 55 is a schematic illustration of a method in which the occupancy state of a seat of a vehicle is determined using a combination neural network in accordance with the invention, in particular, an ensemble arrangement of neural networks.

FIG. 56 is a flow chart of the environment monitoring in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 57 is a schematic drawing of one embodiment of an occupant restraint device control system in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 58 is a flow chart of the operation of one embodiment of an occupant restraint device control method in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 59 is a view similar to FIG. 50 showing an inflated airbag and an arrangement for controlling both the flow of gas into and the flow of gas out of the airbag during the crash where the determination is made based on a height sensor located in the headrest and a weight sensor in the seat.

FIG. 59A illustrates the valving system of FIG. 59.

FIG. 60 is a side view with parts cutaway and removed of a seat in the passenger compartment of a vehicle showing the use of resonators or reflectors to determine the position of the seat.

FIG. 61 is a side view with parts cutaway and removed of the door system of a passenger compartment of a vehicle showing the use of a resonator or reflector to determine the extent of opening of the driver window and of a system for determining the presence of an object, such as the hand of an occupant, in the window opening and showing the use of a resonator or reflector to determine the extent of opening of the driver window and of another system for determining the presence of an object, such as the hand of an occupant, in the window opening, and also showing the use of a resonator or reflector to determine the extent of opening position of the driver side door.

FIG. 62A is a schematic drawing of the basic embodiment of the adjustment system in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 62B is a schematic drawing of another basic embodiment of the adjustment system in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 63 is a flow chart of an arrangement for controlling a component in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 64 is a side plan view of the interior of an automobile, with portions cut away and removed, with two occupant height measuring sensors, one mounted into the headliner above the occupant's head and the other mounted onto the A-pillar and also showing a seatbelt associated with the seat wherein the seatbelt has an adjustable upper anchorage point which is automatically adjusted based on the height of the occupant.

FIG. 65 is a view of the seat of FIG. 48 showing motors for changing the tilt of seat back and the lumbar support.

FIG. 66 is a view as in FIG. 64 showing a driver and driver seat with an automatically adjustable steering column and pedal system which is adjusted based on the morphology of the driver.

FIG. 67 is a view similar to FIG. 48 showing the occupant's eyes and the seat adjusted to place the eyes at a particular vertical position for proper viewing through the windshield and rear view mirror.

FIG. 68 is a side view with parts cutaway and removed of a vehicle showing the passenger compartment containing a driver and a preferred mounting location for an occupant position sensor for use in side impacts and also of a rear of occupant's head locator for use with a headrest adjustment system to reduce whiplash injuries in rear impact crashes.

FIG. 69 is a perspective view of a vehicle about to impact the side of another vehicle showing the location of the various parts of the anticipatory sensor system of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein.

FIG. 70 is a side view with parts cutaway and removed showing schematically the interface between the vehicle interior monitoring system of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein and the vehicle entertainment system.

FIG. 71 is a side view with parts cutaway and removed showing schematically the interface between the vehicle interior monitoring system of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein and the vehicle heating and air conditioning system and including an antenna field sensor.

FIG. 72 is a circuit schematic illustrating the use of the vehicle interior monitoring sensor used as an occupant position sensor in conjunction with the remainder of the inflatable restraint system.

FIG. 73 is a schematic illustration of the exterior monitoring system in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 74 is a side planar view, with certain portions removed or cut away, of a portion of the passenger compartment illustrating a sensor for sensing the headlights of an oncoming vehicle and/or the taillights of a leading vehicle used in conjunction with an automatic headlight dimming system.

FIG. 75 is a schematic illustration of the position measuring in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 76 is a database of data sets for use in training of a neural network in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 77 is a categorization chart for use in a training set collection matrix in accordance with the invention.

FIGS. 78, 79, 80 are charts of infant seats, child seats and booster seats showing attributes of the seats and a designation of their use in the training database, validation database or independent database in an exemplifying embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 81A-81D show a chart showing different vehicle configurations for use in training of combination neural network in accordance with the invention.

FIGS. 82A-82H show a training set collection matrix for training a neural network in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 83 shows an independent test set collection matrix for testing a neural network in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 84 is a table of characteristics of the data sets used in the invention.

FIG. 85 is a table of the distribution of the main training subjects of the training data set.

FIG. 86 is a table of the distribution of the types of child seats in the training data set.

FIG. 87 is a table of the distribution of environmental conditions in the training data set.

FIG. 88 is a table of the distribution of the validation data set.

FIG. 89 is a table of the distribution of human subjects in the validation data set.

FIG. 90 is a table of the distribution of child seats in the validation data set.

FIG. 91 is a table of the distribution of environmental conditions in the validation data set.

FIG. 92 is a table of the inputs from ultrasonic transducers.

FIG. 93 is a table of the baseline network performance.

FIG. 94 is a table of the performance per occupancy subset.

FIG. 95 is a tale of the performance per environmental conditions subset.

FIG. 96 is a chart of four typical raw signals which are combined to constitute a vector.

FIG. 100 shows single camera optical examples explaining the use of edge strength and edge orientation.

FIG. 101 shows single camera optical examples explaining the use of feature vector generated from distribution of horizontal/vertical edges.

FIG. 102 shows single camera optical example explaining the use of feature vector generated from distribution of tilted edges.

FIG. 103 shows single camera optical example explaining the use of feature vector generated from distribution of average intensities and deviations.

FIG. 104 is a table of issues that may affect the image data.

FIG. 105 is a flow chart of the use of two subsystems for handling different lighting conditions.

FIG. 106 shows two flow charts of the use of two modular subsystems consisting of 3 neural networks.

FIG. 107 is a flow chart of a modular subsystem consisting of 6 neural networks.

FIG. 108 is a table of post-processing filters implemented in the invention.

FIG. 109 is a flow chart of a decision-locking mechanism implemented using four internal states.

FIG. 110 is a table of definitions of the four internal states.

FIG. 111 is a table of the paths between the four internal states.

FIG. 112 is a table of the distribution of the nighttime database.

FIG. 113 is a table of the success rates of the nighttime neural networks.

FIG. 114 is a table of the performance of the nighttime subsystem.

FIG. 115 is a table of the distribution of the daytime database.

FIG. 116 is a table of the success rates of the daytime neural networks.

FIG. 117 is a table of the performance of the daytime subsystem.

FIG. 118 is a flow chart of the software components for system development.

FIG. 119 is perspective view with portions cut away of a motor vehicle having a movable headrest and an occupant sitting on the seat with the headrest adjacent the head of the occupant to provide protection in rear impacts.

FIG. 120 is a perspective view of the rear portion of the vehicle shown FIG. 1 showing a rear crash anticipatory sensor connected to an electronic circuit for controlling the position of the headrest in the event of a crash.

FIG. 121 is a perspective view of a headrest control mechanism mounted in a vehicle seat and ultrasonic head location sensors consisting of one transmitter and one receiver plus a head contact sensor, with the seat and headrest shown in phantom.

FIG. 122 is a perspective view of a female vehicle occupant having a large hairdo and also showing switches for manually adjusting the position of the headrest.

FIG. 123 is a perspective view of a male vehicle occupant wearing a winter coat and a large hat.

FIG. 124 is view similar to FIG. 3 showing an alternate design of a head sensor using one transmitter and three receivers for use with a pattern recognition system.

FIG. 125 is a schematic view of an artificial neural network pattern recognition system of the type used to recognize an occupant's head.

FIG. 126 is a perspective view of an of automatically adjusting head and neck supporting headrest.

FIG. 126A is a perspective view with portions cut away and removed of the headrest of FIG. 125.

FIG. 127A is a side view of an occupant seated in the driver seat of an automobile with the headrest in the normal position.

FIG. 127B is a view as in FIG. 126A with the headrest in the head contact position as would happen in anticipation of a rear crash.

FIG. 128A is a side view of an occupant seated in the driver seat of an automobile having an integral seat and headrest and an inflatable pressure controlled bladder with the bladder in the normal position.

FIG. 128B is a view as in FIG. 127A with the bladder expanded in the head contact position as would happen in anticipation of, e.g., a rear crash.

FIG. 129A is a side view of an occupant seated in the driver seat of an automobile having an integral seat and a pivotable headrest and bladder with the headrest in the normal position.

FIG. 129B is a view as in FIG. 128A with the headrest pivoted in the head contact position as would happen in anticipation of, e.g., a rear crash.

FIG. 130 is a perspective view showing a shipping container including one embodiment of the monitoring system in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 131 is a flow chart showing one manner in which a container is monitored in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 132A is a cross-sectional view of a container showing the use of RFID technology in a monitoring system and method in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 132B is a cross-sectional view of a container showing the use of barcode technology in a monitoring system and method in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 133 is a flow chart showing one manner in which multiple assets are monitored in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 134 is a diagram of one exemplifying embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 135 is a perspective view of a carbon dioxide SAW sensor for mounting in the trunk lid for monitoring the inside of the trunk for detecting trapped children or animals.

FIG. 135A is a detailed view of the SAW carbon dioxide sensor of FIG. 135.

FIG. 136 is a schematic illustration of a generalized component with several signals being emitted and transmitted along a variety of paths, sensed by a variety of sensors and analyzed by the diagnostic module in accordance with the invention and for use in a method in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 137 is a schematic of a vehicle with several components and several sensors and a total vehicle diagnostic system in accordance with the invention utilizing a diagnostic module in accordance with the invention and which may be used in a method in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 138 is a flow diagram of information flowing from various sensors onto the vehicle data bus and thereby into the diagnostic module in accordance with the invention with outputs to a display for notifying the driver, and to the vehicle cellular phone for notifying another person, of a potential component failure.

FIG. 139 is a flow chart of the methods for automatically monitoring a vehicular component in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 140 is a schematic illustration of the components used in the methods for automatically monitoring a vehicular component.

FIG. 141 is a schematic of a vehicle with several accelerometers and/or gyroscopes at preferred locations in the vehicle.

FIG. 142 is a schematic view of overall telematics system in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 143A is a partial cutaway view of a tire pressure monitor using an absolute pressure measuring SAW device.

FIG. 143B is a partial cutaway view of a tire pressure monitor using a differential pressure measuring SAW device.

FIG. 144 is a partial cutaway view of an interior SAW tire temperature and pressure monitor mounted onto and below the valve stem.

FIG. 144A is a sectioned view of the SAW tire pressure and temperature monitor of FIG. 144 incorporating an absolute pressure SAW device.

FIG. 144B is a sectioned view of the SAW tire pressure and temperature monitor of FIG. 144 incorporating a differential pressure SAW device.

FIG. 145 is a view of an accelerometer-based tire monitor also incorporating a SAW pressure and temperature monitor and cemented to the interior of the tire opposite the tread.

FIG. 145A is a view of an accelerometer-based tire monitor also incorporating a SAW pressure and temperature monitor and inserted into the tire opposite the tread during manufacture.

FIG. 146 is a detailed view of a polymer on SAW pressure sensor.

FIG. 146A is a view of a SAW temperature and pressure monitor on a single SAW device.

FIG. 146B is a view of an alternate design of a SAW temperature and pressure monitor on a single SAW device.

FIG. 147 is a perspective view of a SAW temperature sensor.

FIG. 147A is a perspective view of a device that can provide two measurements of temperature or one of temperature and another of some other physical or chemical property such as pressure or chemical concentration.

FIG. 147B is a top view of an alternate SAW device capable of determining two physical or chemical properties such as pressure and temperature.

FIGS. 148 and 148A are views of a prior art SAW accelerometer that can be used for the tire monitor assembly of FIG. 145.

FIG. 150A is a view of a view of a SAW switch sensor for mounting on or within a surface such as a vehicle armrest.

FIG. 150B is a detailed perspective view of the device of FIG. 150A with the force-transmitting member rendered transparent.

FIG. 150C is a detailed perspective view of an alternate SAW device for use in FIGS. 150A and 150B showing the use of one of two possible switches, one that activates the SAW and the other that suppresses the SAW.

FIG. 151A is a detailed perspective view of a polymer and mass on SAW accelerometer for use in crash sensors, vehicle navigation, etc.

FIG. 151B is a detailed perspective view of a normal mass on SAW accelerometer for use in crash sensors, vehicle navigation, etc.

FIG. 152 is a view of a prior art SAW gyroscope that can be used with at least one of the inventions disclosed herein.

FIG. 153A, 153B and 153C are block diagrams of three interrogators that can be used with at least one of the inventions disclosed herein to interrogate several different devices.

FIG. 154 is a perspective view of a SAW antenna system adapted for mounting underneath a vehicle and for communicating with the four mounted tires.

FIG. 154A is a detail view of an antenna system for use in the system of FIG. 154.

FIG. 155 is an overhead view of a roadway with vehicles and a SAW road temperature and humidity monitoring sensor.

FIG. 155A is a detail drawing of the monitoring sensor of FIG. 155.

FIG. 156 is a perspective view of a SAW system for locating a vehicle on a roadway, and on the earth surface if accurate maps are available. It also illustrates the use of a SAW transponder in the license plate for the location of preceding vehicles and preventing rear end impacts.

FIG. 157 is a partial cutaway view of a section of a fluid reservoir with a SAW fluid pressure and temperature sensor for monitoring oil, water, or other fluid pressure.

FIG. 158 is a perspective view of a vehicle suspension system with SAW load sensors.

FIG. 158A is a cross section detail view of a vehicle spring and shock absorber system with a SAW torque sensor system mounted for measuring the stress in the vehicle spring of the suspension system of FIG. 158.

FIG. 158B is a detail view of a SAW torque sensor and shaft compression sensor arrangement for use with the arrangement of FIG. 158.

FIG. 160A is a perspective view of a SAW tilt sensor using four SAW assemblies for tilt measurement and one for temperature.

FIG. 160B is a top view of a SAW tilt sensor using three SAW assemblies for tilt measurement each one of which can also measure temperature.

FIG. 161 is a perspective exploded view of a SAW crash sensor for sensing frontal, side or rear crashes.

FIG. 162 is a partial cutaway view of a piezoelectric generator and tire monitor using PVDF film.

FIG. 162A is a cutaway view of the PVDF sensor of FIG. 162.

FIG. 163 is a perspective view with portions cutaway of a SAW based vehicle gas gage.

FIG. 163A is a top detailed view of a SAW pressure and temperature monitor for use in the system of FIG. 163.

FIG. 164 is a partial cutaway view of a vehicle drives wearing a seatbelt with SAW force sensors.

FIG. 165 is an alternate arrangement of a SAW tire pressure and temperature monitor installed in the wheel rim facing inside.

FIG. 166A is a schematic of a prior art deployment scheme for an airbag module.

FIG. 166B is a schematic of a deployment scheme for an airbag module in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 167 is a schematic of an aperture monitoring system in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 168 is a flow chart of a method for monitoring an aperture in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 169 is a block diagram of an aperture monitoring system in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 170 is an illustration of the placement of aperture monitoring systems, such as of FIG. 169, in a vehicle for use with vehicle windows.

FIG. 171 is a top view of the systems of FIG. 170.

FIG. 172 is a flow chart of another method for monitoring an aperture in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 173 is a flow chart of still another method for monitoring an aperture in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 174 is a circuit diagram showing a method of approximately compensating for the drop-off in signal strength due to distance to the target.

FIG. 175 illustrates a circuit that performs a quasi-logarithmic compression amplification of the return signal.

FIG. 176 illustrates a damped transducer where the damping material is placed in the transducer cone.

FIG. 177 illustrates the superimposed reflections from a target placed at three distances from the transducer, 9 cm, 50 cm and 1 meter respectively for a transducer with a damped cone as shown in FIG. 176.

FIG. 178 illustrates the superimposed reflections from a target placed at 16.4 cm, 50 cm and 1 meter respectively for a transducer without a damped cone.

FIG. 179A-179F illustrate a variety of examples of a transducer in a tube design. A straight tube with an exponential horn is illustrated in FIG. 179A. FIG. 179B and 179C illustrate the bending of the tube through 40 degrees and 90 degrees respectively. FIG. 179D illustrates the incorporation of a single loop and FIG. 179E of multiple loops. FIG. 179F illustrates the use of a small diameter tube.

FIG. 180 illustrates the effect of a delay in the start of the amplifier for a fraction of a millisecond on the ability to measure close objects.

FIGS. 181A-B illustrates the use of a Colpits system for permitting the electronic damping the motion of the transducer cone and thereby eliminating the ringing.

FIG. 182 illustrates an alternative method of electronically reducing the ringing of the ultrasonic transducer.

FIG. 183A is an example of a horn shaped to create an elliptical pattern and the resulting pattern is illustrated in FIG. 183B.

FIG. 184 illustrates an alternate method of achieving a particular desired ultrasonic field shape by using a flat reflector.

FIG. 185 is similar to FIG. 184 except a concave reflector is used.

FIG. 186 is similar to FIG. 184 except a convex reflector is used.

FIG. 187 is diagram of a neural network similar to FIG. 19b only with a dual architecture with the addition of a post processing operation for both the categorization and position measurement networks and separate hidden layer nodes for each of the two networks.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Note whenever a patent or literature is referred to below it is to be assumed that all of that patent or literature is to be incorporated by reference in its entirety to the extent the disclosure of these reference is necessary. Also note that although many of the examples below relate to a particular vehicle, an automobile, the invention is not limited to any particular vehicle and is thus applicable to all relevant vehicles including shipping containers and truck trailers and to all compartments of a vehicle including, for example, the passenger compartment and the trunk of an automobile or truck.

1. General Occupant Sensors

Referring to the accompanying drawings, FIG. 1 is a side view, with parts cutaway and removed of a vehicle showing the passenger compartment, or passenger container, containing a rear facing child seat 2 on a front passenger seat 4 and a preferred mounting location for a first embodiment of a vehicle interior monitoring system in accordance with the invention. The interior monitoring system is capable of detecting the presence of an object, occupying objects such as a box, an occupant or a rear facing child seat 2, determining the type of object, determining the location of the object, and/or determining another property or characteristic of the object. A property of the object could be the orientation of a child seat, the velocity of an adult and the like. For example, the vehicle interior monitoring system can determine that an object is present on the seat, that the object is a child seat and that the child seat is rear-facing. The vehicle interior monitoring system could also determine that the object is an adult, that he is drunk and that he is out of position relative to the airbag.

In this embodiment, three transducers 6, 8 and 10 are used alone, or, alternately in combination with one or more antenna near field monitoring sensors or transducers, 12, 14 and 16, although any number of wave-transmitting transducers or radiation-receiving receivers may be used. Such transducers or receivers may be of the type that emit or receive a continuous signal, a time varying signal or a spatial varying signal such as in a scanning system and each may comprise only a transmitter which transmits energy, waves or radiation, only a receiver which receives energy, waves or radiation, both a transmitter and a receiver capable of transmitting and receiving energy, waves or radiation, an electric field sensor, a capacitive sensor, or a self-tuning antenna-based sensor, weight sensor, chemical sensor, motion sensor or vibration sensor, for example.

One particular type of radiation-receiving receiver for use in the invention receives electromagnetic waves and another receives ultrasonic waves.

In an ultrasonic embodiment, transducer 8 can be used as a transmitter and transducers 6 and 10 can be used as receivers. Naturally, other combinations can be used such as where all transducers are transceivers (transmitters and receivers). For example, transducer 8 can be constructed to transmit ultrasonic energy toward the front passenger seat, which is modified, in this case by the occupying item of the passenger seat, i.e., the rear facing child seat 2, and the modified waves are received by the transducers 6 and 10, for example. A more common arrangement is where transducers 6, 8 and 10 are all transceivers. Modification of the ultrasonic energy may constitute reflection of the ultrasonic energy as the ultrasonic energy is reflected back by the occupying item of the seat. The waves received by transducers 6 and 10 vary with time depending on the shape of the object occupying the passenger seat, in this case the rear facing child seat 2. Each different occupying item will reflect back waves having a different pattern. Also, the pattern of waves received by transducer 6 will differ from the pattern received by transducer 10 in view of its different mounting location. This difference generally permits the determination of location of the reflecting surface (i.e., the rear facing child seat 2) through triangulation. Through the use of two transducers 6, 10, a sort of stereographic image is received by the two transducers and recorded for analysis by processor 20, which is coupled to the transducers 6, 8, 10, e.g., by wires or wirelessly. This image will differ for each object that is placed on the vehicle seat and it will also change for each position of a particular object and for each position of the vehicle seat. Elements 6, 8, 10, although described as transducers, are representative of any type of component used in a wave-based analysis technique. Also, although the example of an automobile passenger compartment has been shown, the same principle can be used for monitoring the interior of any vehicle including in particular shipping containers and truck trailers.

Wave-type sensors as the transducers 6, 8, 10 as well as electric field sensors 12, 14, 16 are mentioned above. Electric field sensors and wave sensors are essentially the same from the point of view of sensing the presence of an occupant in a vehicle. In both cases, a time varying electric field is disturbed or modified by the presence of the occupant. At high frequencies in the visual, infrared and high frequency radio wave region, the sensor is based on its capability to sense a change of wave characteristics of the electromagnetic field, such as amplitude, phase or frequency. As the frequency drops, other characteristics of the field are measured. At still lower frequencies, the occupant's dielectric properties modify parameters of the reactive electric field in the occupied space between or near the plates of a capacitor. In this latter case, the sensor senses the change in charge distribution on the capacitor plates by measuring, for example, the current wave magnitude or phase in the electric circuit that drives the capacitor. These measured parameters are directly connected with parameters of the displacement current in the occupied space. In all cases, the presence of the occupant reflects, absorbs or modifies the waves or variations in the electric field in the space occupied by the occupant. Thus, for the purposes of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein, capacitance, electric field or electromagnetic wave sensors are equivalent and although they are all technically “field” sensors they will be considered as “wave” sensors herein. What follows is a discussion comparing the similarities and differences between two types of field or wave sensors, electromagnetic wave sensors and capacitive sensors as exemplified by Kithil in U.S. 05702634.

An electromagnetic field disturbed or emitted by a passenger in the case of an electromagnetic wave sensor, for example, and the electric field sensor of Kithil, for example, are in many ways similar and equivalent for the purposes of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein. The electromagnetic wave sensor is an actual electromagnetic wave sensor by definition because they sense parameters of an electromagnetic wave, which is a coupled pair of continuously changing electric and magnetic fields. The electric field here is not a static, potential one. It is essentially a dynamic, rotational electric field coupled with a changing magnetic one, that is, an electromagnetic wave. It cannot be produced by a steady distribution of electric charges. It is initially produced by moving electric charges in a transmitter, even if this transmitter is a passenger body for the case of a passive infrared sensor.

In the Kithil sensor, a static electric field is declared as an initial material agent coupling a passenger and a sensor (see Column 5, lines 5-7: “The proximity sensor 12 each function by creating an electrostatic field between oscillator input loop 54 and detector output loop 56, which is affected by presence of a person near by, as a result of capacitive coupling, . . . ). It is a potential, non-rotational electric field. It is not necessarily coupled with any magnetic field. It is the electric field of a capacitor. It can be produced with a steady distribution of electric charges. Thus, it is not an electromagnetic wave by definition but if the sensor is driven by a varying current, then it produces a quasistatic electric field in the space between/near the plates of the capacitor.

Kithil declares that his capacitance sensor uses a static electric field. Thus, from the consideration above, one can conclude that Kithil's sensor cannot be treated as a wave sensor because there are no actual electromagnetic waves but only a static electric field of the capacitor in the sensor system. However, this is not believed to be the case. The Kithil system could not operate with a true static electric field because a steady system does not carry any information. Therefore, Kithil is forced to use an oscillator, causing an alternate current in the capacitor and a reactive quasi-static electric field in the space between the capacitor plates, and a detector to reveal an informative change of the sensor capacitance caused by the presence of an occupant (see FIG. 7 and its description). In this case, the system becomes a “wave sensor” in the sense that it starts generating an actual time-varying electric field that certainly originates electromagnetic waves according to the definition above. That is, Kithil's sensor can be treated as a wave sensor regardless of the shape of the electric field that it creates, a beam or a spread shape.

As follows from the Kithil patent, the capacitor sensor is likely a parametric system where the capacitance of the sensor is controlled by the influence of the passenger body. This influence is transferred by means of the near electromagnetic field (i.e., the wave-like process) coupling the capacitor electrodes and the body. It is important to note that the same influence takes place with a real static electric field also, that is in absence of any wave phenomenon. This would be a situation if there were no oscillator in Kithil's system. However, such a system is not workable and thus Kithil reverts to a dynamic system using time-varying electric fields.

Thus, although Kithil declares that the coupling is due to a static electric field, such a situation is not realized in his system because an alternating electromagnetic field (“quasi-wave”) exists in the system due to the oscillator. Thus, his sensor is actually a wave sensor, that is, it is sensitive to a change of a wave field in the vehicle compartment. This change is measured by measuring the change of its capacitance. The capacitance of the sensor system is determined by the configuration of its electrodes, one of which is a human body, that is, the passenger inside of and the part which controls the electrode configuration and hence a sensor parameter, the capacitance.

The physics definition of “wave” from Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary is: “11. Physics. A progressive disturbance propagated from point to point in a medium or space without progress or advance of the points themselves, . . . ”. In a capacitor, the time that it takes for the disturbance (a change in voltage) to propagate through space, the dielectric and to the opposite plate is generally small and neglected but it is not zero. As the frequency driving the capacitor increases and the distance separating the plates increases, this transmission time as a percentage of the period of oscillation can become significant. Nevertheless, an observer between the plates will see the rise and fall of the electric field much like a person standing in the water of an ocean. The presence of a dielectric body between the plates causes the waves to get bigger as more electrons flow to and from the plates of the capacitor. Thus, an occupant affects the magnitude of these waves which is sensed by the capacitor circuit. Thus, the electromagnetic field is a material agent that carries information about a passenger's position in both Kithil's and a beam-type electromagnetic wave sensor.

For ultrasonic systems, the “image” recorded from each ultrasonic transducer/receiver, is actually a time series of digitized data of the amplitude of the received signal versus time. Since there are two receivers, two time series are obtained which are processed by the processor 20. The processor 20 may include electronic circuitry and associated, embedded software. Processor 20 constitutes one form of generating means in accordance with the invention which generates information about the occupancy of the passenger compartment based on the waves received by the transducers 6, 8, 10.

When different objects are placed on the front passenger seat, the images from transducers 6, 8, 10 for example, are different but there are also similarities between all images of rear facing child seats, for example, regardless of where on the vehicle seat it is placed and regardless of what company manufactured the child seat. Alternately, there will be similarities between all images of people sitting on the seat regardless of what they are wearing, their age or size. The problem is to find the “rules” which differentiate the images of one type of object from the images of other types of objects, e.g., which differentiate the occupant images from the rear facing child seat images. The similarities of these images for various child seats are frequently not obvious to a person looking at plots of the time series and thus computer algorithms are developed to sort out the various patterns. For a more detailed discussion of pattern recognition see U.S. RE 37260 to Varga et al.

The determination of these rules is important to the pattern recognition techniques used in at least one of the inventions disclosed herein. In general, three approaches have been useful, artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic and artificial neural networks (including cellular and modular or combination neural networks and support vector machines—although additional types of pattern recognition techniques may also be used, such as sensor fusion). In some implementations of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein, such as the determination that there is an object in the path of a closing window as described below, the rules are sufficiently obvious that a trained researcher can sometimes look at the returned signals and devise a simple algorithm to make the required determinations. In others, such as the determination of the presence of a rear facing child seat or of an occupant, artificial neural networks can be used to determine the rules. One such set of neural network software for determining the pattern recognition rules is available from the International Scientific Research, Inc. of Panama City, Panama.

Electromagnetic energy based occupant sensors exist that use many portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. A system based on the ultraviolet, visible or infrared portions of the spectrum generally operate with a transmitter and a receiver of reflected radiation. The receiver may be a camera or a photo detector such as a pin or avalanche diode as described in detail in above-referenced patents and patent applications. At other frequencies, the absorption of the electromagnetic energy is primarily used and at still other frequencies the capacitance or electric field influencing effects are used. Generally, the human body will reflect, scatter, absorb or transmit electromagnetic energy in various degrees depending on the frequency of the electromagnetic waves. All such occupant sensors are included herein.

In an embodiment wherein electromagnetic energy is used, it is to be appreciated that any portion of the electromagnetic signals that impinges upon, surrounds or involves a body portion of the occupant is at least partially absorbed by the body portion. Sometimes, this is due to the fact that the human body is composed primarily of water, and that electromagnetic energy of certain frequencies is readily absorbed by water. The amount of electromagnetic signal absorption is related to the frequency of the signal, and size or bulk of the body portion that the signal impinges upon. For example, a torso of a human body tends to absorb a greater percentage of electromagnetic energy than a hand of a human body.

Thus, when electromagnetic waves or energy signals are transmitted by a transmitter, the returning waves received by a receiver provide an indication of the absorption of the electromagnetic energy. That is, absorption of electromagnetic energy will vary depending on the presence or absence of a human occupant, the occupant's size, bulk, surface reflectivity, etc. depending on the frequency, so that different signals will be received relating to the degree or extent of absorption by the occupying item on the seat. The receiver will produce a signal representative of the returned waves or energy signals which will thus constitute an absorption signal as it corresponds to the absorption of electromagnetic energy by the occupying item in the seat.

One or more of the transducers 6, 8, 10 can also be image-receiving devices, such as cameras, which take images of the interior of the passenger compartment. These images can be transmitted to a remote facility to monitor the passenger compartment or can be stored in a memory device for use in the event of an accident, i.e., to determine the status of the occupant(s) of the vehicle prior to the accident. In this manner, it can be ascertained whether the driver was falling asleep, talking on the phone, etc.

A memory device for storing images of the passenger compartment, and also for receiving and storing any other information, parameters and variables relating to the vehicle or occupancy of the vehicle, may be in the form a standardized “black box” (instead of or in addition to a memory part in a processor 20). The IEEE Standards Association is currently beginning to develop an international standard for motor vehicle event data recorders. The information stored in the black box and/or memory unit in the processor 20, can include the images of the interior of the passenger compartment as well as the number of occupants and the health state of the occupant(s). The black box would preferably be tamper-proof and crash-proof and enable retrieval of the information after a crash.

Transducer 8 can also be a source of electromagnetic radiation, such as an LED, and transducers 6 and 10 can be CMOS, CCD imagers or other devices sensitive to electromagnetic radiation or fields. This “image” or return signal will differ for each object that is placed on the vehicle seat, or elsewhere in the vehicle, and it will also change for each position of a particular object and for each position of the vehicle seat or other movable objects within the vehicle. Elements 6, 8, 10, although described as transducers, are representative of any type of component used in a wave-based or electric field analysis technique, including, e.g., a transmitter, receiver, antenna or a capacitor plate.

Transducers 12, 14 and 16 can be antennas placed in the seat and instrument panel, or other convenient location within the vehicle, such that the presence of an object, particularly a water-containing object such as a human, disturbs the near field of the antenna. This disturbance can be detected by various means such as with Micrel parts MICREF102 and MICREF104, which have a built-in antenna auto-tune circuit. Note, these parts cannot be used as is and it is necessary to redesign the chips to allow the auto-tune information to be retrieved from the chip.

Other types of transducers can be used along with the transducers 6, 8, 10 or separately and all are contemplated by at least one of the inventions disclosed herein. Such transducers include other wave devices such as radar or electronic field sensing systems such as described in U.S. 05366241, U.S. 05602734, U.S. 05691693, U.S. 05802479, U.S. 05844486, U.S. 06014602, and U.S. 06275146 to Kithil, and U.S. 05948031 to Rittmueller. Another technology, for example, uses the fact that the content of the near field of an antenna affects the resonant tuning of the antenna. Examples of such a device are shown as antennas 12, 14 and 16 in FIG. 1. By going to lower frequencies, the near field range is increased and also at such lower frequencies, a ferrite-type antenna could be used to minimize the size of the antenna. Other antennas that may be applicable for a particular implementation include dipole, microstrip, patch, Yagi etc. The frequency transmitted by the antenna can be swept and the (VSWR) voltage and current in the antenna feed circuit can be measured. Classification by frequency domain is then possible. That is, if the circuit is tuned by the antenna, the frequency can be measured to determine the object in the field.

An alternate system is shown in FIG. 2, which is a side view showing schematically the interface between the vehicle interior monitoring system of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein and the vehicle cellular or other communication system 32, such as a satellite based system such as that supplied by Skybitz, having an associated antenna 34. In this view, an adult occupant 30 is shown sitting on the front passenger seat 4 and two transducers 6 and 8 are used to determine the presence (or absence) of the occupant on that seat 4. One of the transducers 8 in this case acts as both a transmitter and receiver while the other transducer 6 acts only as a receiver. Alternately, transducer 6 could serve as both a transmitter and receiver or the transmitting function could be alternated between the two devices. Also, in many cases, more that two transmitters and receivers are used and in still other cases, other types of sensors, such as weight, chemical, radiation, vibration, acoustic, seatbelt tension sensor or switch, heartbeat, self tuning antennas (12, 14), motion and seat and seatback position sensors, are also used alone or in combination with the transducers 6 and 8. As is also the case in FIG. 1, the transducers 6 and 8 are attached to the vehicle embedded in the A-pillar and headliner trim, where their presence is disguised, and are connected to processor 20 that may also be hidden in the trim as shown or elsewhere. Naturally, other mounting locations can also be used and, in most cases, preferred as disclosed in Varga et. al. (U.S. RE 37260).

The transducers 6 and 8 in conjunction with the pattern recognition hardware and software described below enable the determination of the presence of an occupant within a short time after the vehicle is started. The software is implemented in processor 20 and is packaged on a printed circuit board or flex circuit along with the transducers 6 and 8. Similar systems can be located to monitor the remaining seats in the vehicle, also determine the presence of occupants at the other seating locations and this result is stored in the computer memory, which is part of each monitoring system processor 20. Processor 20 thus enables a count of the number of occupants in the vehicle to be obtained by addition of the determined presence of occupants by the transducers associated with each seating location, and in fact, can be designed to perform such an addition. Naturally, the principles illustrated for automobile vehicles are applicable by those skilled in the art to other vehicles such as shipping containers or truck trailers and to other compartments of an automotive vehicle such as the vehicle trunk.

For a general object, transducers 6, 8, 9, 10 can also be used to determine the type of object, determine the location of the object, and/or determine another property or characteristic of the object. A property of the object could be the orientation of a child seat, the velocity of an adult and the like. For example, the transducers 6, 8, 9, 10 can be designed to enable a determination that an object is present on the seat, that the object is a child seat and that the child seat is rear-facing.

The transducers 6 and 8 are attached to the vehicle buried in the trim such as the A-pillar trim, where their presence can be disguised, and are connected to processor 20 that may also be hidden in the trim as shown (this being a non-limiting position for the processor 20). The A-pillar is the roof support pillar that is closest to the front of the vehicle and which, in addition to supporting the roof, also supports the front windshield and the front door. Other mounting locations can also be used. For example, transducers 6, 8 can be mounted inside the seat (along with or in place of transducers 12 and 14), in the ceiling of the vehicle, in the B-pillar, in the C-pillar and in the doors. Indeed, the vehicle interior monitoring system in accordance with the invention may comprise a plurality of monitoring units, each arranged to monitor a particular seating location. In this case, for the rear seating locations, transducers might be mounted in the B-pillar or C-pillar or in the rear of the front seat or in the rear side doors. Possible mounting locations for transducers, transmitters, receivers and other occupant sensing devices are disclosed in the above-referenced patent applications and all of these mounting locations are contemplated for use with the transducers described herein.

The cellular phone or other communications system 32 outputs to an antenna 34. The transducers 6, 8, 12 and 14 in conjunction with the pattern recognition hardware and software, which is implemented in processor 20 and is packaged on a printed circuit board or flex circuit along with the transducers 6 and 8, determine the presence of an occupant within a few seconds after the vehicle is started, or within a few seconds after the door is closed. Similar systems located to monitor the remaining seats in the vehicle, also determine the presence of occupants at the other seating locations and this result is stored in the computer memory which is part of each monitoring system processor 20.

Periodically and in particular in the event of an accident, the electronic system associated with the cellular phone system 32 interrogates the various interior monitoring system memories and arrives at a count of the number of occupants in the vehicle, and optionally, even makes a determination as to whether each occupant was wearing a seatbelt and if he or she is moving after the accident. The phone or other communications system then automatically dials the EMS operator (such as 911 or through a telematics service such as OnStar®) and the information obtained from the interior monitoring systems is forwarded so that a determination can be made as to the number of ambulances and other equipment to send to the accident site, for example. Such vehicles will also have a system, such as the global positioning system, which permits the vehicle to determine its exact location and to forward this information to the EMS operator. Other systems can be implemented in conjunction with the communication with the emergency services operator. For example, a microphone and speaker can be activated to permit the operator to attempt to communicate with the vehicle occupant(s) and thereby learn directly of the status and seriousness of the condition of the occupant(s) after the accident.

Thus, in basic embodiments of the invention, wave or other energy-receiving transducers are arranged in the vehicle at appropriate locations, trained if necessary depending on the particular embodiment, and function to determine whether a life form is present in the vehicle and if so, how many life forms are present and where they are located etc. To this end, transducers can be arranged to be operative at only a single seating location or at multiple seating locations with a provision being made to eliminate a repetitive count of occupants. A determination can also be made using the transducers as to whether the life forms are humans, or more specifically, adults, child in child seats, etc. As noted herein, this is possible using pattern recognition techniques. Moreover, the processor or processors associated with the transducers can be trained to determine the location of the life forms, either periodically or continuously or possibly only immediately before, during and after a crash. The location of the life forms can be as general or as specific as necessary depending on the system requirements, i.e., a determination can be made that a human is situated on the driver's seat in a normal position (general) or a determination can be made that a human is situated on the driver's seat and is leaning forward and/or to the side at a specific angle as well as the position of his or her extremities and head and chest (specifically). The degree of detail is limited by several factors, including, for example, the number and position of transducers and training of the pattern recognition algorithm(s).

In addition to the use of transducers to determine the presence and location of occupants in a vehicle, other sensors could also be used. For example, a heartbeat sensor which determines the number and presence of heartbeat signals can also be arranged in the vehicle, which would thus also determine the number of occupants as the number of occupants would be equal to the number of heartbeat signals detected. Conventional heartbeat sensors can be adapted to differentiate between a heartbeat of an adult, a heartbeat of a child and a heartbeat of an animal. As its name implies, a heartbeat sensor detects a heartbeat, and the magnitude and/or frequency thereof, of a human occupant of the seat, if such a human occupant is present. The output of the heartbeat sensor is input to the processor of the interior monitoring system. One heartbeat sensor for use in the invention may be of the types as disclosed in McEwan (U.S. 05573012 and U.S. 05766208). The heartbeat sensor can be positioned at any convenient position relative to the seats where occupancy is being monitored. A preferred location is within the vehicle seatback.

An alternative way to determine the number of occupants is to monitor the weight being applied to the seats, i.e., each seating location, by arranging weight sensors at each seating location which might also be able to provide a weight distribution of an object on the seat. Analysis of the weight and/or weight distribution by a predetermined method can provide an indication of occupancy by a human, an adult or child, or an inanimate object.

Another type of sensor which is not believed to have been used in an interior monitoring system previously is a micropower impulse radar (MIR) sensor which determines motion of an occupant and thus can determine his or her heartbeat (as evidenced by motion of the chest). Such an MIR sensor can be arranged to detect motion in a particular area in which the occupant's chest would most likely be situated or could be coupled to an arrangement which determines the location of the occupant's chest and then adjusts the operational field of the MIR sensor based on the determined location of the occupant's chest. A motion sensor utilizing a micro-power impulse radar (MIR) system as disclosed, for example, in McEwan (U.S. 05361070), as well as many other patents by the same inventor.

Motion sensing is accomplished by monitoring a particular range from the sensor as disclosed in that patent. MIR is one form of radar which has applicability to occupant sensing and can be mounted at various locations in the vehicle. It has an advantage over ultrasonic sensors in that data can be acquired at a higher speed and thus the motion of an occupant can be more easily tracked. The ability to obtain returns over the entire occupancy range is somewhat more difficult than with ultrasound resulting in a more expensive system overall. MIR has additional advantages in lack of sensitivity to temperature variation and has a comparable resolution to about 40 kHz ultrasound. Resolution comparable to higher frequency ultrasound is also possible. Additionally, multiple MIR sensors can be used when high speed tracking of the motion of an occupant during a crash is required since they can be individually pulsed without interfering with each through time division multiplexing.

An alternative way to determine motion of the occupant(s) is to monitor the weight distribution of the occupant whereby changes in weight distribution after an accident would be highly suggestive of movement of the occupant. A system for determining the weight distribution of the occupants could be integrated or otherwise arranged in the seats such as the front seat 4 of the vehicle and several patents and publications describe such systems.

More generally, any sensor which determines the presence and health state of an occupant can also be integrated into the vehicle interior monitoring system in accordance with the invention. For example, a sensitive motion sensor can determine whether an occupant is breathing and a chemical sensor can determine the amount of carbon dioxide, or the concentration of carbon dioxide, in the air in the passenger compartment of the vehicle which can be correlated to the health state of the occupant(s). The motion sensor and chemical sensor can be designed to have a fixed operational field situated where the occupant's mouth is most likely to be located. In this manner, detection of carbon dioxide in the fixed operational field could be used as an indication of the presence of a human occupant in order to enable the determination of the number of occupants in the vehicle. In the alternative, the motion sensor and chemical sensor can be adjustable and adapted to adjust their operational field in conjunction with a determination by an occupant position and location sensor which would determine the location of specific parts of the occupant's body, e.g., his or her chest or mouth. Furthermore, an occupant position and location sensor can be used to determine the location of the occupant's eyes and determine whether the occupant is conscious, i.e., whether his or her eyes are open or closed or moving.

The use of chemical sensors can also be used to detect whether there is blood present in the vehicle, for example, after an accident. Additionally, microphones can detect whether there is noise in the vehicle caused by groaning, yelling, etc., and transmit any such noise through the cellular or other communication connection to a remote listening facility (such as operated by OnStar®).

In FIG. 3, a view of the system of FIG. 1 is illustrated with a box 28 shown on the front passenger seat in place of a rear facing child seat. The vehicle interior monitoring system is trained to recognize that this box 28 is neither a rear facing child seat nor an occupant and therefore it is treated as an empty seat and the deployment of the airbag or other occupant restraint device is suppressed. For other vehicles, it may be that just the presence of a box or its motion or chemical or radiation effluents that are desired to be monitored. The auto-tune antenna-based system 12, 14 is particularly adept at making this distinction particularly if the box 28 does not contain substantial amounts of water. Although a simple implementation of the auto-tune antenna system is illustrated, it is of course possible to use multiple antennas located in the seat 4 and elsewhere in the passenger compartment and these antenna systems can either operate at one or a multiple of different frequencies to discriminate type, location and/or relative size of the object being investigated. This training can be accomplished using a neural network or modular neural network with the commercially available software. The system assesses the probability that the box 28 is a person, however, and if there is even the remotest chance that it is a person, the airbag deployment is not suppressed. The system is thus typically biased toward enabling airbag deployment.

In cases where different levels of airbag inflation are possible, and there are different levels of injury associated with an out of position occupant being subjected to varying levels of airbag deployment, it is sometimes possible to permit a depowered or low level airbag deployment in cases of uncertainty. If, for example, the neural network has a problem distinguishing whether a box or a forward facing child seat is present on the vehicle seat, the decision can be made to deploy the airbag in a depowered or low level deployment state. Other situations where such a decision could be made would be when there is confusion as to whether a forward facing human is in position or out-of-position.

Neural networks systems frequently have problems in accurately discriminating the exact location of an occupant especially when different-sized occupants are considered. This results in a gray zone around the border of the keep out zone where the system provides a weak fire or weak no fire decision. For those cases, deployment of the airbag in a depowered state can resolve the situation since an occupant in a gray zone around the keep out zone boundary would be unlikely to be injured by such a depowered deployment while significant airbag protection is still being supplied.

Electromagnetic or ultrasonic energy can be transmitted in three modes in determining the position of an occupant, for example. In most of the cases disclosed above, it is assumed that the energy will be transmitted in a broad diverging beam which interacts with a substantial portion of the occupant or other object to be monitored. This method can have the disadvantage that it will reflect first off the nearest object and, especially if that object is close to the transmitter, it may mask the true position of the occupant or object. It can also reflect off many parts of the object where the reflections can be separated in time and processed as in an ultrasonic occupant sensing system. This can also be partially overcome through the use of the second mode which uses a narrow beam. In this case, several narrow beams are used. These beams are aimed in different directions toward the occupant from a position sufficiently away from the occupant or object such that interference is unlikely.

A single receptor could be used provided the beams are either cycled on at different times or are of different frequencies. Another approach is to use a single beam emanating from a location which has an unimpeded view of the occupant or object such as the windshield header in the case of an automobile or near the roof at one end of a trailer or shipping container, for example. If two spaced apart CCD array receivers are used, the angle of the reflected beam can be determined and the location of the occupant can be calculated. The third mode is to use a single beam in a manner so that it scans back and forth and/or up and down, or in some other pattern, across the occupant, object or the space in general. In this manner, an image of the occupant or object can be obtained using a single receptor and pattern recognition software can be used to locate the head or chest of the occupant or size of the object, for example. The beam approach is most applicable to electromagnetic energy but high frequency ultrasound can also be formed into a narrow beam.

A similar effect to modifying the wave transmission mode can also be obtained by varying the characteristics of the receptors. Through appropriate lenses or reflectors, receptors can be made to be most sensitive to radiation emitted from a particular direction. In this manner, a single broad beam transmitter can be used coupled with an array of focused receivers, or a scanning receiver, to obtain a rough image of the occupant or occupying object.

Each of these methods of transmission or reception could be used, for example, at any of the preferred mounting locations shown in FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 7, there are provided four sets of wave-receiving sensor systems 6, 8, 9, 10 mounted within the passenger compartment of an automotive vehicle. Each set of sensor systems 6, 8, 9, 10 comprises a transmitter and a receiver (or just a receiver in some cases), which may be integrated into a single unit or individual components separated from one another. In this embodiment, the sensor system 6 is mounted on the A-Pillar of the vehicle. The sensor system 9 is mounted on the upper portion of the B-Pillar. The sensor system 8 is mounted on the roof ceiling portion or the headliner. The sensor system 10 is mounted near the middle of an instrument panel 17 in front of the driver's seat 3.

The sensor systems 6, 8, 9, 10 are preferably ultrasonic or electromagnetic, although sensor systems 6, 8, 9, 10 can be any other type of sensors which will detect the presence of an occupant from a distance including capacitive or electric field sensors. Also, if the sensor systems 6, 8, 9, 10 are passive infrared sensors, for example, then they may only comprise a wave-receiver. Recent advances in Quantum Well Infrared Photodetectors by NASA show great promise for this application. See “Many Applications Possible For Largest Quantum Infrared Detector”, Goddard Space Center News Release Feb. 27, 2002.

The Quantum Well Infrared Photodetector is a new detector which promises to be a low-cost alternative to conventional infrared detector technology for a wide range of scientific and commercial applications, and particularly for sensing inside and outside of a vehicle. The main problem that needs to be solved is that it operates at 76 degrees Kelvin (−323 degrees F.). Chips are being developed capable of cooling other chips economically. It remains to be seen if these low temperatures can be economically achieved.

A section of the passenger compartment of an automobile is shown generally as 40 in FIGS. 8A-8D. A driver 30 of the vehicle sits on a seat 3 behind a steering wheel 42, which contains an airbag assembly 44. Airbag assembly 44 may be integrated into the steering wheel assembly or coupled to the steering wheel 42. Five transmitter and/or receiver assemblies 49, 50, 51, 52 and 54 are positioned at various places in the passenger compartment to determine the location of various parts of the driver, e.g., the head, chest and torso, relative to the airbag and to otherwise monitor the interior of the passenger compartment. Monitoring of the interior of the passenger compartment can entail detecting the presence or absence of the driver and passengers, differentiating between animate and inanimate objects, detecting the presence of occupied or unoccupied child seats, rear-facing or forward-facing, and identifying and ascertaining the identity of the occupying items in the passenger compartment. Naturally, a similar system can be used for monitoring the interior of a truck, shipping container or other containers.

A processor such as control circuitry 20 is connected to the transmitter/receiver assemblies 49, 50, 51, 52, 54 and controls the transmission from the transmitters, if a transmission component is present in the assemblies, and captures the return signals from the receivers, if a receiver component is present in the assemblies. Control circuitry 20 usually contains analog to digital converters (ADCs) or a frame grabber or equivalent, a microprocessor containing sufficient memory and appropriate software including, for example, pattern recognition algorithms, and other appropriate drivers, signal conditioners, signal generators, etc. Usually, in any given implementation, only three or four of the transmitter/receiver assemblies would be used depending on their mounting locations as described below. In some special cases, such as for a simple classification system, only a single or sometimes only two transmitter/receiver assemblies are used.

A portion of the connection between the transmitter/receiver assemblies 49, 50, 51, 52, 54 and the control circuitry 20, is shown as wires. These connections can be wires, either individual wires leading from the control circuitry 20 to each of the transmitter/receiver assemblies 49, 50, 51, 52, 54 or one or more wire buses or in some cases, wireless data transmission can be used.

The location of the control circuitry 20 in the dashboard of the vehicle is for illustration purposes only and does not limit the location of the control circuitry 20. Rather, the control circuitry 20 may be located anywhere convenient or desired in the vehicle.

It is contemplated that a system and method in accordance with the invention can include a single transmitter and multiple receivers, each at a different location. Thus, each receiver would not be associated with a transmitter forming transmitter/receiver assemblies. Rather, for example, with reference to FIG. 8A, only element 51 could constitute a transmitter/receiver assembly and elements 49, 50, 52 and 54 could be receivers only.

On the other hand, it is conceivable that in some implementations, a system and method in accordance with the invention include a single receiver and multiple transmitters. Thus, each transmitter would not be associated with a receiver forming transmitter/receiver assemblies. Rather, for example, with reference to FIG. 8A, only element 51 would constitute a transmitter/receiver assembly and elements 49, 50, 52, 54 would be transmitters only.

One ultrasonic transmitter/receiver as used herein is similar to that used on modern auto-focus cameras such as manufactured by the Polaroid Corporation. Other camera auto-focusing systems use different technologies, which are also applicable here, to achieve the same distance to object determination. One camera system manufactured by Fuji of Japan, for example, uses a stereoscopic system which could also be used to determine the position of a vehicle occupant providing there is sufficient light available. In the case of insufficient light, a source of infrared light can be added to illuminate the driver. In a related implementation, a source of infrared light is reflected off of the windshield and illuminates the vehicle occupant. An infrared receiver 56 is located attached to the rear view mirror assembly 55, as shown in FIG. 8E. Alternately, the infrared can be sent by the device 50 and received by a receiver elsewhere. Since any of the devices shown in these figures could be either transmitters or receivers or both, for simplicity, only the transmitted and not the reflected wave fronts are frequently illustrated.

When using the surface of the windshield as a reflector of infrared radiation (for transmitter/receiver assembly and element 52), care must be taken to assure that the desired reflectivity at the frequency of interest is achieved. Mirror materials, such as metals and other special materials manufactured by Eastman Kodak, have a reflectivity for infrared frequencies that is substantially higher than at visible frequencies. They are thus candidates for coatings to be placed on the windshield surfaces for this purpose.

There are two preferred methods of implementing the vehicle interior monitoring system of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein, a microprocessor system and an application specific integrated circuit system (ASIC). Both of these systems are represented schematically as 20 herein. In some systems, both a microprocessor and an ASIC are used. In other systems, most if not all of the circuitry is combined onto a single chip (system on a chip). The particular implementation depends on the quantity to be made and economic considerations. A block diagram illustrating the microprocessor system is shown in FIG. 12A which shows the implementation of the system of FIG. 1. An alternate implementation of the FIG. 1 system using an ASIC is shown in FIG. 12B. In both cases, the target, which may be a rear facing child seat, is shown schematically as 2 and the three transducers as 6, 8, and 10. In the embodiment of FIG. 12A, there is a digitizer coupled to the receivers 6, 10 and the processor, and an indicator coupled to the processor. In the embodiment of FIG. 12B, there is a memory unit associated with the ASIC and also an indicator coupled to the ASIC.

The position of the occupant may be determined in various ways including by receiving and analyzing waves from a space in a passenger compartment of the vehicle occupied by the occupant, transmitting waves to impact the occupant, receiving waves after impact with the occupant and measuring time between transmission and reception of the waves, obtaining two or three-dimensional images of a passenger compartment of the vehicle occupied by the occupant and analyzing the images with an optional focusing of the images prior to analysis, or by moving a beam of radiation through a passenger compartment of the vehicle occupied by the occupant. The waves may be ultrasonic, radar, electromagnetic, passive infrared, and the like, and capacitive in nature. In the latter case, a capacitance or capacitive sensor may be provided. An electric field sensor could also be used.

Deployment of the airbag can be disabled when the determined position is too close to the airbag.

The rate at which the airbag is inflated and/or the time in which the airbag is inflated may be determined based on the determined position of the occupant.

Another method for controlling deployment of an airbag comprises the steps of determining the position of an occupant to be protected by deployment of the airbag and adjusting a threshold used in a sensor algorithm which enables or suppresses deployment of the airbag based on the determined position of the occupant. The probability that a crash requiring deployment of the airbag is occurring may be assessed and analyzed relative to the threshold whereby deployment of the airbag is enabled only when the assessed probability is greater than the threshold. The position of the occupant can be determined in any of the ways mentioned above.

A system for controlling deployment of an airbag comprises determining means for determining the position of an occupant to be protected by deployment of the airbag, sensor means for assessing the probability that a crash requiring deployment of the airbag is occurring, and circuit means coupled to the determining means, the sensor means and the airbag for enabling deployment of the airbag in consideration of the determined position of the occupant and the assessed probability that a crash is occurring. The circuit means are structured and arranged to analyze the assessed probability relative to a pre-determined threshold whereby deployment of the airbag is enabled only when the assessed probability is greater than the threshold. Further, the circuit means are arranged to adjust the threshold based on the determined position of the occupant. The determining means may any of the determining systems discussed above.

One method for controlling deployment of an airbag comprises a crash sensor for providing information on a crash involving the vehicle, a position determining arrangement for determining the position of an occupant to be protected by deployment of the airbag and a circuit coupled to the airbag, the crash sensor and the position determining arrangement and arranged to issue a deployment signal to the airbag to cause deployment of the airbag. The circuit is arranged to consider a deployment threshold which varies based on the determined position of the occupant. Further, the circuit is arranged to assess the probability that a crash requiring deployment of the airbag is occurring and analyze the assessed probability relative to the threshold whereby deployment of the airbag is enabled only when the assessed probability is greater than the threshold.

In another implementation, the sensor algorithm may determine the rate that gas is generated to affect the rate that the airbag is inflated. In all of these cases the position of the occupant is used to affect the deployment of the airbag either as to whether or not it should be deployed at all, the time of deployment or as to the rate of inflation.

1.1 Ultrasonics

1.1.1 General

The maximum acoustic frequency that is practical to use for acoustic imaging in the systems is about 40 to 160 kilohertz (kHz). The wavelength of a 50 kHz acoustic wave is about 0.6 cm which is too coarse to determine the fine features of a person's face, for example. It is well understood by those skilled in the art that features which are much smaller than the wavelength of the irradiating radiation cannot be distinguished. Similarly, the wavelength of common radar systems varies from about 0.9 cm (for 33 GHz K band) to 133 cm (for 225 MHz P band) which are also too coarse for person-identification systems.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 13-17, a section of the passenger compartment of an automobile is shown generally as 40 in FIG. 5. A driver of a vehicle 30 sits on a seat 3 behind a steering wheel 42 which contains an airbag assembly 44. Four transmitter and/or receiver assemblies 50, 52, 53 and 54 are positioned at various places in or around the passenger compartment to determine the location of the head, chest and torso of the driver 30 relative to the airbag assembly 44. Usually, in any given implementation, only one or two of the transmitters and receivers would be used depending on their mounting locations as described below.

FIG. 5 illustrates several of the possible locations of such devices. For example, transmitter and receiver 50 emits ultrasonic acoustical waves which bounce off the chest of the driver 30 and return. Periodically, a burst of ultrasonic waves at about 50 kilohertz is emitted by the transmitter/receiver and then the echo, or reflected signal, is detected by the same or different device. An associated electronic circuit measures the time between the transmission and the reception of the ultrasonic waves and determines the distance from the transmitter/receiver to the driver 30 based on the velocity of sound. This information can then be sent to a microprocessor that can be located in the crash sensor and diagnostic circuitry which determines if the driver 30 is close enough to the airbag assembly 44 that a deployment might, by itself, cause injury to the driver 30. In such a case, the circuit disables the airbag system and thereby prevents its deployment. In an alternate case, the sensor algorithm assesses the probability that a crash requiring an airbag is in process and waits until that probability exceeds an amount that is dependent on the position of the driver 30. Thus, for example, the sensor might decide to deploy the airbag based on a need probability assessment of 50%, if the decision must be made immediately for a driver 30 approaching the airbag, but might wait until the probability rises to 95% for a more distant driver. Although a driver system has been illustrated, the passenger system would be similar.

Alternate mountings for the transmitter/receiver include various locations on the instrument panel on either side of the steering column such as 53 in FIG. 5. Also, although some of the devices herein illustrated assume that for the ultrasonic system, the same device is used for both transmitting and receiving waves, there are advantages in separating these functions, at least for standard transducer systems. Since there is a time lag required for the system to stabilize after transmitting a pulse before it can receive a pulse, close measurements are enhanced, for example, by using separate transmitters and receivers. In addition, if the ultrasonic transmitter and receiver are separated, the transmitter can transmit continuously, provided the transmitted signal is modulated such that the received signal can be compared with the transmitted signal to determine the time it takes for the waves to reach and reflect off of the occupant.

Many methods exist for this modulation including varying the frequency or amplitude of the waves or pulse modulation or coding. In all cases, the logic circuit which controls the sensor and receiver must be able to determine when the signal which was most recently received was transmitted. In this manner, even though the time that it takes for the signal to travel from the transmitter to the receiver, via reflection off of the occupant or other object to be monitored, may be several milliseconds, information as to the position of the occupant is received continuously which permits an accurate, although delayed, determination of the occupant's velocity from successive position measurements. Other modulation methods that may be applied to electromagnetic radiations include TDMA, CDMA, noise or pseudo-noise, spatial, etc.

Conventional ultrasonic distance measuring devices must wait for the signal to travel to the occupant or other monitored object and return before a new signal is sent. This greatly limits the frequency at which position data can be obtained to the formula where the frequency is equal to the velocity of sound divided by two times the distance to the occupant. For example, if the velocity of sound is taken at about 1000 feet per second, occupant position data for an occupant or object located one foot from the transmitter can only be obtained every 2 milliseconds which corresponds to a frequency of about 500 Hz. At a three-foot displacement and allowing for some processing time, the frequency is closer to about 100 Hz.

This slow frequency that data can be collected seriously degrades the accuracy of the velocity calculation. The reflection of ultrasonic waves from the clothes of an occupant or the existence of thermal gradients, for example, can cause noise or scatter in the position measurement and lead to significant inaccuracies in a given measurement. When many measurements are taken more rapidly, as in the technique described here, these inaccuracies can be averaged and a significant improvement in the accuracy of the velocity calculation results.

The determination of the velocity of the occupant need not be derived from successive distance measurements. A potentially more accurate method is to make use of the Doppler Effect where the frequency of the reflected waves differs from the transmitted waves by an amount which is proportional to the occupant's velocity. In one embodiment, a single ultrasonic transmitter and a separate receiver are used to measure the position of the occupant, by the travel time of a known signal, and the velocity, by the frequency shift of that signal. Although the Doppler Effect has been used to determine whether an occupant has fallen asleep, it has not previously been used in conjunction with a position measuring device to determine whether an occupant is likely to become out of position, i.e., an extrapolated position in the future based on the occupant's current position and velocity as determined from successive position measurements, and thus in danger of being injured by a deploying airbag, or that a monitored object is moving. This combination is particularly advantageous since both measurements can be accurately and efficiently determined using a single transmitter and receiver pair resulting in a low cost system.

One problem with Doppler measurements is the slight change in frequency that occurs during normal occupant velocities. This requires that sophisticated electronic techniques and a low Q receiver should be utilized to increase the frequency and thereby render it easier to measure the velocity using the phase shift. For many implementations, therefore, the velocity of the occupant is determined by calculating the difference between successive position measurements.

The following discussion will apply to the case where ultrasonic sensors are used although a similar discussion can be presented relative to the use of electromagnetic sensors such as active infrared sensors, taking into account the differences in the technologies. Also, the following discussion will relate to an embodiment wherein the seat is the front passenger seat, although a similar discussion can apply to other vehicles and monitoring situations.

The ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensor systems, 6, 8, 9 and 10 in FIG. 7 can be controlled or driven, one at a time or simultaneously, by an appropriate driver circuit such as ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensor driver circuit 58 shown in FIG. 9. The transmitters of the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensor systems 6, 8, 9 and 10 transmit respective ultrasonic or electromagnetic waves toward the seat 4 and transmit pulses (see FIG. 10(c)) in sequence at times t1, t2, t3 and t4 (t4>t3>t2>t1) or simultaneously (t1=t2=t3=t4). The reflected waves of the ultrasonic or electromagnetic waves are received by the receivers ChA-ChD of the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors 6, 8, 9 and 10. The receiver ChA is associated with the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensor system 8, the receiver ChB is associated with the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensor system 5, the receiver ChD is associated with the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensor system 6, and the receiver ChD is associated with the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensor system 9.

FIGS. 10(a) and 10(b) show examples of the reflected ultrasonic waves USRW that are received by receivers ChA-ChD. FIG. 10(a) shows an example of the reflected wave USRW that is obtained when an adult sits in a normally seated space on the passenger seat 4, while FIG. 10(b) shows an example of the reflected wave USRW that are obtained when an adult sits in a slouching state (one of the abnormal seated-states) in the passenger seat 4.

In the case of a normally seated passenger, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the location of the ultrasonic sensor system 6 is closest to the passenger A. Therefore, the reflected wave pulse P1 is received earliest after transmission by the receiver ChD as shown in FIG. 10(a), and the width of the reflected wave pulse P1 is larger. Next, the distance from the ultrasonic sensor 8 is closer to the passenger A, so a reflected wave pulse P2 is received earlier by the receiver ChA compared with the remaining reflected wave pulses P3 and P4. Since the reflected wave pauses P3 and P4 take more time than the reflected wave pulses P1 and P2 to arrive at the receivers ChC and ChB, the reflected wave pulses P3 and P4 are received as the timings shown in FIG. 10(a). More specifically, since it is believed that the distance from the ultrasonic sensor system 6 to the passenger A is slightly shorter than the distance from the ultrasonic sensor system 10 to the passenger A, the reflected wave pulse P3 is received slightly earlier by the receiver ChC than the reflected wave pulse P4 is received by the receiver ChB.

In the case where the passenger A is sitting in a slouching state in the passenger seat 4, the distance between the ultrasonic sensor system 6 and the passenger A is shortest. Therefore, the time from transmission at time t3 to reception is shortest, and the reflected wave pulse P3 is received by the receiver ChC, as shown in FIG. 10(b). Next, the distances between the ultrasonic sensor system 10 and the passenger A becomes shorter, so the reflected wave pulse P4 is received earlier by the receiver ChB than the remaining reflected wave pulses P2 and P1. When the distance from the ultrasonic sensor system 8 to the passenger A is compared with that from the ultrasonic sensor system 9 to the passenger A, the distance from the ultrasonic sensor system 8 to the passenger A becomes shorter, so the reflected wave pulse P2 is received by the receiver ChA first and the reflected wave pulse P1 is thus received last by the receiver ChD.

The configurations of the reflected wave pulses P1-P4, the times that the reflected wave pulses P1-P4 are received, the sizes of the reflected wave pulses P1-P4 are varied depending upon the configuration and position of an object such as a passenger situated on the front passenger seat 4. FIGS. 10(a) and (b) merely show examples for the purpose of description and therefore the present invention is not limited to these examples.

The outputs of the receivers ChA-ChD, as shown in FIG. 9, are input to a band pass filter 60 through a multiplex circuit 59 which is switched in synchronization with a timing signal from the ultrasonic sensor drive circuit 58. The band pass filter 60 removes a low frequency wave component from the output signal based on each of the reflected wave USRW and also removes some of the noise. The output signal based on each of the reflected wave USRW is passed through the band pass filter 60, then is amplified by an amplifier 61. The amplifier 61 also removes the high frequency carrier wave component in each of the reflected waves USRW and generates an envelope wave signal. This envelope wave signal is input to an analog/digital converter (ADC) 62 and digitized as measured data. The measured data is input to a processing circuit 63, which is controlled by the timing signal which is in turn output from the ultrasonic sensor drive circuit 58.

The processing circuit 63 collects measured data at intervals of 7 ms (or at another time interval with the time interval also being referred to as a time window or time period), and 47 data points are generated for each of the ultrasonic sensor systems 6, 8, 9 and 10. For each of these reflected waves USRW, the initial reflected wave portion T1 and the last reflected wave portion T2 are cut off or removed in each time window. The reason for this will be described when the training procedure of a neural network is described later, and the description is omitted for now. With this, 32, 31, 37 and 38 data points will be sampled by the ultrasonic sensor systems 6, 8, 9 and 10, respectively. The reason why the number of data points differs for each of the ultrasonic sensor systems 6, 8, 9 and 10 is that the distance from the passenger seat 4 to the ultrasonic sensor systems 6, 8, 9 and 10 differ from one another.

Each of the measured data is input to a normalization circuit 64 and normalized. The normalized measured data is input to the neural network 65 as wave data.

A comprehensive occupant sensing system will now be discussed which involves a variety of different sensors, again this is for illustration purposes only and a similar description can be constructed for other vehicles including shipping container and truck trailer monitoring. Many of these sensors will be discussed in more detail under the appropriate sections below. FIG. 6 shows a passenger seat 70 to which an adjustment apparatus including a seated-state detecting unit according to the present invention may be applied. The seat 70 includes a horizontally situated bottom seat portion 4 and a vertically oriented back portion 72. The seat portion 4 is provided with one or more pressure or weight sensors 7, 76 that determine the weight of the object occupying the seat or the pressure applied by the object to the seat. The coupled portion between the seated portion 4 and the back portion 72 is provided with a reclining angle detecting sensor 57, which detects the tilted angle of the back portion 72 relative to the seat portion 4. The seat portion 4 is provided with a seat track position-detecting sensor 74. The seat track position detecting sensor 74 detects the quantity of movement of the seat portion 4 which is moved from a back reference position, indicated by the dotted chain line. Optionally embedded within the back portion 72 are a heartbeat sensor 71 and a motion sensor 73. Attached to the headliner is a capacitance sensor 78. The seat 70 may be the driver seat, the front passenger seat or any other seat in a motor vehicle as well as other seats in transportation vehicles or seats in non-transportation applications.

Pressure or weight measuring means such as the sensors 7 and 76 are associated with the seat, e.g., mounted into or below the seat portion 4 or on the seat structure, for measuring the pressure or weight applied onto the seat. The pressure or weight may be zero if no occupying item is present and the sensors are calibrated to only measure incremental weight or pressure. Sensors 7 and 76 may represent a plurality of different sensors which measure the pressure or weight applied onto the seat at different portions thereof or for redundancy purposes, e.g., such as by means of an airbag or fluid filled bladder 75 in the seat portion 4. Airbag or bladder 75 may contain a single or a plurality of chambers, each of which may be associated with a sensor (transducer) 76 for measuring the pressure in the chamber. Such sensors may be in the form of strain, force or pressure sensors which measure the force or pressure on the seat portion 4 or seat back 72, a part of the seat portion 4 or seat back 72, displacement measuring sensors which measure the displacement of the seat surface or the entire seat 70 such as through the use of strain gages mounted on the seat structural members, such as 7, or other appropriate locations, or systems which convert displacement into a pressure wherein one or more pressure sensors can be used as a measure of weight and/or weight distribution. Sensors 7, 76 may be of the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 06,242,701 and below herein. Although pressure or weight here is disclosed and illustrated with regard to measuring the pressure applied by or weight of an object occupying a seat in an automobile or truck, the same principles can be used to measure the pressure applied by and weight of objects occupying other vehicles including truck trailers and shipping containers. For example, a series of fluid filled bladders under a segmented floor could be used to measure the weight and weight distribution in a truck trailer.

Many practical problems have arisen during the development stages of bladder and strain gage based weight systems. Some of these problems relate to bladder sensors and in particular to gas-filled bladder sensors and are effectively dealt with in U.S. Pat. No. 05,918,696, U.S. Pat. No. 05,927,427, U.S. Pat. No. 05,957,491, U.S. Pat. No. 05,979,585, U.S. Pat. No. 05,984,349, U.S. Pat. No. 06,021,863, U.S. Pat. No. 06,056,079, U.S. Pat. No. 06,076,853, U.S. Pat. No. 06,260,879 and U.S. Pat. No.06,286,861. Other problems relate to seatbelt usage and to unanticipated stresses and strains that occur in seat mounting structures and will be discussed below.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the output of the pressure or weight sensor(s) 7 and 76 is amplified by an amplifier 66 coupled to the pressure or weight sensor(s) 7,76 and the amplified output is input to the analog/digital converter 67.

A heartbeat sensor 71 is arranged to detect a heartbeat, and the magnitude thereof, of a human occupant of the seat, if such a human occupant is present. The output of the heartbeat sensor 71 is input to the neural network 65. The heartbeat sensor 71 may be of the type as disclosed in McEwan (U.S. Pat. No. 05,573,012 and U.S. Pat. No. 05,766,208). The heartbeat sensor 71 can be positioned at any convenient position relative to the seat 4 where occupancy is being monitored. A preferred location is within the vehicle seatback. The heartbeat of a stowaway in a cargo container or truck trailer can similarly be measured be a sensor on the vehicle floor or other appropriate location that measures vibrations.

The reclining angle detecting sensor 57 and the seat track position-detecting sensor 74, which each may comprise a variable resistor, can be connected to constant-current circuits, respectively. A constant-current is supplied from the constant-current circuit to the reclining angle detecting sensor 57, and the reclining angle detecting sensor 57 converts a change in the resistance value on the tilt of the back portion 72 to a specific voltage. This output voltage is input to an analog/digital converter 68 as angle data, i.e., representative of the angle between the back portion 72 and the seat portion 4. Similarly, a constant current can be supplied from the constant-current circuit to the seat track position-detecting sensor 74 and the seat track position detecting sensor 74 converts a change in the resistance value based on the track position of the seat portion 4 to a specific voltage. This output voltage is input to an analog/digital converter 69 as seat track data. Thus, the outputs of the reclining angle-detecting sensor 57 and the seat track position-detecting sensor 74 are input to the analog/digital converters 68 and 69, respectively. Each digital data value from the ADCs 68, 69 is input to the neural network 65. Although the digitized data of the pressure or weight sensor(s) 7, 76 is input to the neural network 65, the output of the amplifier 66 is also input to a comparison circuit. The comparison circuit, which is incorporated in the gate circuit algorithm, determines whether or not the weight of an object on the passenger seat 70 is more than a predetermined weight, such as 60 lbs., for example. When the weight is more than 60 lbs., the comparison circuit outputs a logic 1 to the gate circuit to be described later. When the weight of the object is less than 60 lbs., a logic 0 is output to the gate circuit. A more detailed description of this and similar systems can be found in the above-referenced patents and patent applications assigned to the current assignee and in the description below. The system described above is one example of many systems that can be designed using the teachings of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein for detecting the occupancy state of the seat of a vehicle.

As diagrammed in FIG. 18, the first step is to mount the four sets of ultrasonic sensor systems 11-14, the weight sensors 7,76, the reclining angle detecting sensor 57, and the seat track position detecting sensor 74, for example, into a vehicle (step S1). For other vehicle monitoring tasks different sets of sensors could be used. Next, in order to provide data for the neural network 65 to learn the patterns of seated states, data is recorded for patterns of all possible seated or occupancy states and a list is maintained recording the seated or occupancy states for which data was acquired. The data from the sensors/transducers 6, 8, 9, 10, 57, 71, 73, 74, 76 and 78 for a particular occupancy of the passenger seat, for example, is called a vector (step S2). It should be pointed out that the use of the reclining angle detecting sensor 57, seat track position detecting sensor 74, heartbeat sensor 71, capacitive sensor 78 and motion sensor 73 is not essential to the detecting apparatus and method in accordance with the invention. However, each of these sensors, in combination with any one or more of the other sensors enhances the evaluation of the seated-state of the seat or the occupancy of the vehicle.

Next, based on the training data from the reflected waves of the ultrasonic sensor systems 6, 8, 9, 10 and the other sensors 7, 71, 73,76, 78 the vector data is collected (step S3). Next, the reflected waves P1-P4 are modified by removing the initial reflected waves from each time window with a short reflection time from an object (range gating) (period T1 in FIG. 11) and the last portion of the reflected waves from each time window with a long reflection time from an object (period P2 in FIG. 11) (step S4). It is believed that the reflected waves with a short reflection time from an object is due to cross-talk, that is, waves from the transmitters which leak into each of their associated receivers ChA-ChD. It is also believed that the reflected waves with a long reflection time are reflected waves from an object far away from the passenger seat or from multipath reflections. If these two reflected wave portions are used as data, they will add noise to the training process. Therefore, these reflected wave portions are eliminated from the data.

Recent advances in ultrasonic transducer design have now permitted the use of a single transducer acting as both a sender (transmitter) and receiver. These same advances have substantially reduced the ringing of the transducer after the excitation pulse has been caused to die out to where targets as close as about 2 inches from the transducer can be sensed. Thus, the magnitude of the T1 time period has been substantially reduced.

As shown in FIG. 19(a), the measured data is normalized by making the peaks of the reflected wave pulses P1-P4 equal (step S5). This eliminates the effects of different reflectivities of different objects and people depending on the characteristics of their surfaces such as their clothing. Data from the weight sensor, seat track position sensor and seat reclining angle sensor is also frequently normalized based typically on fixed normalization parameters. When other sensors are used for other types of monitoring, similar techniques are used.

The data from the ultrasonic transducers are now also preferably fed through a logarithmic compression circuit that substantially reduces the magnitude of reflected signals from high reflectivity targets compared to those of low reflectivity. Additionally, a time gain circuit is used to compensate for the difference in sonic strength received by the transducer based on the distance of the reflecting object from the transducer.

As various parts of the vehicle interior identification and monitoring system described in the above reference patents and patent applications are implemented, a variety of transmitting and receiving transducers will be present in the vehicle passenger compartment. If several of these transducers are ultrasonic transmitters and receivers, they can be operated in a phased array manner, as described elsewhere for the headrest, to permit precise distance measurements and mapping of the components of the passenger compartment. This is illustrated in FIG. 20 which is a perspective view of the interior of the passenger compartment showing a variety of transmitters and receivers, 6, 8, 9, 23, 49-51 which can be used in a sort of phased array system. In addition, information can be transmitted between the transducers using coded signals in an ultrasonic network through the vehicle compartment airspace. If one of these sensors is an optical CCD or CMOS array, the location of the driver's eyes can be accurately determined and the results sent to the seat ultrasonically. Obviously, many other possibilities exist for automobile and other vehicle monitoring situations.

To use ultrasonic transducers in a phase array mode generally requires that the transducers have a low Q. Certain new micromachined capacitive transducers appear to be suitable for such an application. The range of such transducers is at present limited, however.

The speed of sound varies with temperature, humidity, and pressure. This can be compensated for by using the fact that the geometry between the transducers is known and the speed of sound can therefore be measured. Thus, on vehicle startup and as often as desired thereafter, the speed of sound can be measured by one transducer, such as transducer 18 in FIG. 21, sending a signal which is directly received by another transducer 5. Since the distance separating them is known, the speed of sound can be calculated and the system automatically adjusted to remove the variation due to variations in the speed of sound. Therefore, the system operates with same accuracy regardless of the temperature, humidity or atmospheric pressure. It may even be possible to use this technique to also automatically compensate for any effects due to wind velocity through an open window. An additional benefit of this system is that it can be used to determine the vehicle interior temperature for use by other control systems within the vehicle since the variation in the velocity of sound is a strong function of temperature and a weak function of pressure and humidity.

The problem with the speed of sound measurement described above is that some object in the vehicle may block the path from one transducer to the other. This of course could be checked and a correction would not be made if the signal from one transducer does not reach the other transducer. The problem, however, is that the path might not be completely blocked but only slightly blocked. This would cause the ultrasonic path length to increase, which would give a false indication of a temperature change. This can be solved by using more than one transducer. All of the transducers can broadcast signals to all of the other transducers. The problem here, of course, is which transducer pair should be believed if they all give different answers. The answer is the one that gives the shortest distance or the greatest calculated speed of sound. By this method, there are a total of 6 separate paths for four ultrasonic transducers.

An alternative method of determining the temperature is to use the transducer circuit to measure some parameter of the transducer that changes with temperature. For example, the natural frequency of ultrasonic transducers changes in a known manner with temperature and therefore by measuring the natural frequency of the transducer, the temperature can be determined. Since this method does not require communication between transducers, it would also work in situations where each transducer has a different resonant frequency.

The process, by which all of the distances are carefully measured from each transducer to the other transducers, and the algorithm developed to determine the speed of sound, is a novel part of the teachings of the instant invention for use with ultrasonic transducers. Prior to this, the speed of sound calculation was based on a single transmission from one transducer to a known second transducer. This resulted in an inaccurate system design and degraded the accuracy of systems in the field.

If the electronic control module that is part of the system is located in generally the same environment as the transducers, another method of determining the temperature is available. This method utilizes a device and whose temperature sensitivity is known and which is located in the same box as the electronic circuit. In fact, in many cases, an existing component on the printed circuit board can be monitored to give an indication of the temperature. For example, the diodes in a log comparison circuit have characteristics that their resistance changes in a known manner with temperature. It can be expected that the electronic module will generally be at a higher temperature than the surrounding environment, however, the temperature difference is a known and predictable amount. Thus, a reasonably good estimation of the temperature in the passenger compartment, or other container compartment, can also be obtained in this manner. Naturally, thermisters or other temperature transducers can be used.

The placement of ultrasonic transducers for the example of ultrasonic occupant position sensor system of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein include the following novel disclosures: (1) the application of two sensors to single-axis monitoring of target volumes; (2) the method of locating two sensors spanning a target volume to sense object positions, that is, transducers are mounted along the sensing axis beyond the objects to be sensed; (3) the method of orientation of the sensor axis for optimal target discrimination parallel to the axis of separation of distinguishing target features; and (4) the method of defining the head and shoulders and supporting surfaces as defining humans for rear facing child seat detection and forward facing human detection.

A similar set of observations is available for the use of electromagnetic, capacitive, electric field or other sensors and for other vehicle monitoring situations. Such rules however must take into account that some of such sensors typically are more accurate in measuring lateral and vertical dimensions relative to the sensor than distances perpendicular to the sensor. This is particularly the case for CMOS and CCD-based transducers.

Considerable work is ongoing to improve the resolution of the ultrasonic transducers. To take advantage of higher resolution transducers, data points should be obtained that are closer together in time. This means that after the envelope has been extracted from the returned signal, the sampling rate should be increased from approximately 1000 samples per second to perhaps 2000 samples per second or even higher. By doubling or tripling the amount of data required to be analyzed, the system which is mounted on the vehicle will require greater computational power. This results in a more expensive electronic system. Not all of the data is of equal importance, however. The position of the occupant in the normal seating position does not need to be known with great accuracy whereas, as that occupant is moving toward the keep out zone boundary during pre-crash braking, the spatial accuracy requirements become more important. Fortunately, the neural network algorithm generating system has the capability of indicating to the system designer the relative value of each data point used by the neural network. Thus, as many as, for example, 500 data points per vector may be collected and fed to the neural network during the training stage and, after careful pruning, the final number of data points to be used by the vehicle mounted system may be reduced to 150, for example. This technique of using the neural network algorithm-generating program to prune the input data is an important teaching of the present invention.

By this method, the advantages of higher resolution transducers can be optimally used without increasing the cost of the electronic vehicle-mounted circuits. Also, once the neural network has determined the spacing of the data points, this can be fine-tuned, for example, by acquiring more data points at the edge of the keep out zone as compared to positions well into the safe zone. The initial technique is done by collecting the full 500 data points, for example, while in the system installed in the vehicle the data digitization spacing can be determined by hardware or software so that only the required data is acquired.

1.1.2 Thermal Gradients

Thermal gradients can affect the propagation of sound within a vehicle interior in at least two general ways. These have been termed “long-term” and “short-term” thermal instability. When ultrasound waves travel through a region of varying air density, the direction the waves travel can be bent in much the same way that light waves are bent when going through the waves of a swimming pool resulting in varying reflection patterns off of the bottom.

Long-term instability is caused when a stable thermal gradient occurs in the vehicle as happens, for example, when the sun beats down on the vehicle's roof and the windows are closed. This effect can be reproduced in vehicles in laboratory tests using a heat lamp within the vehicle. The effect has been largely eliminated through training the neural network with data taken when the gradient is present. Additionally, changes in the electronics hardware including greater signal strength and a log amplifier, as discussed below, have eliminated the effect.

Short-term instability results when there is a flow of hot or cold air within the vehicle, such as caused by operating the heater when the vehicle is cold, or the air conditioner when the vehicle is hot. Bench tests have demonstrated that a combination of greater signal strength and a logarithmic amplification of the return signal can substantially reduce the variability of the reflected ultrasound signal from a target caused by short term instability. As with the long-term instability, it is important to train the neural network with this effect present. When the combination of these hardware changes and training is used, the short-term thermal instability is substantially reduced. If the data from five or more consecutive vectors is averaged, the effect becomes insignificant, see pre and post-processing descriptions below. A vector is the combined digitized data from, for example in this case, the four transducers, which is inputted into the neural network as described above.

Different techniques for compensating for thermal gradients are listed below.

1.1.2.1 Logarithmic Compression Amplifier

One method that has proven to be successful in reducing the effects of both short and long term thermal instability is to use a log compression amplifier, also referred to as a log compression amplifier circuit. A log compression amplifier is a general term used here to indicate an amplifier that amplifies the small return signals more than the large signals. Thus, there is a selective amplification of signals. This is coupled with changes to the circuit to increase the signal strength level of the return signal. The increase in signal strength can be accomplished in several ways, for example, by an increase in the transducer drive voltage, which results in a higher sound pressure level, or by generally increasing the gain of the amplifier of the return signal. A circuit diagram showing a method of approximately compensating for the drop-off in signal strength due to the distance between the target and the transducer is shown in FIG. 174. In both cases, if the log compression amplifier were not present, the analog to digital converter (ADC) would saturate on many of the reflected waves. The log compression amplifier prevents this by amplifying the higher return signals less than the lower signals in such a manner as to prevent this saturation. The log compression amplifier thus precedes the ADC in the signal processing arrangement. FIG. 175 illustrates a circuit that performs a quasi-logarithmic compression amplification of the return signal.

The log compression amplifier receives the signals from the ultrasonic receivers and selectively amplifies them and directs the amplified signals to the ADC. The use of a log compression amplifier between ultrasonic receivers and ADCs in a vehicular occupant identification and position detecting system provides significant advantages over prior art occupant identification and position detecting systems.

The operation of the quasi-logarithmic compression amplifier circuit shown on FIG. 175 is as follows:

(1) The echo detected by the ultrasonic transducer is amplified by stage U1.

(2) The function of stage U2 is to vary the gain of the amplifier with time to compensate for the signal attenuation with distance (time) of the echo reflected from various surfaces.

(4) C1 and L1 are tuned to the operating frequency of the transducer, typically between 40 and 80 kHz.

(5) For small signals, the diodes do not conduct and therefore the gain is at the maximum since there is no loading of the tuned circuit. Thus, the amplification is high.

(6) When the signal is high enough for diodes D1, D3 and D2, D4 to conduct resistor R5 shunts the tuned circuit lowering the Q and reducing the gain. Q is a measure of resonance capability of a transducer whereby a low Q is indicative of a weak resonance and a high Q is indicative of high resonance. D1, D3 and D2, D4 are connected back to back so that the negative half cycle has the same gain as the positive half cycle.

(7) When the signal increases more, diode D5 and D6 will conduct, shunting the tuned circuit with R4 as well as R5, which further reduces the gain of the stage.

(8) When the signal increases more, diode D7 and D8 will conduct, shunting the tuned circuit with R3 as well as R4 and R5, which further reduces the gain of the stage.

(9) When the signal increases more, diode D11 and D12 will conduct, shunting the tuned circuit with R1 as well as R2, R3, R4 and R5 which further reduces the gain of the stage.

(10) When the signal increases more, all of the diodes will conduct and the resistance of the diodes will shunt the resistors lowering the gain.

(11) The diodes are connected back-to-back so that the positive and negative half cycles will be compressed equally.

(12) The circuit can be temperature stabilized by maintaining the diodes at a constant temperature using apparatus known to those skilled in the art.

(13) The amount of compression can be changed by changing resistor values.

(14) The range of the circuit may be changed by changing the number of diodes and resistors in the network.

(15) The output of the network is buffered by a high impedance circuit with a buffer stage U3.

(16) U3 may be made into a demodulator by adding a diode and a resistor in the buffer stage.

The component designated AD8031A in FIG. 175 is a wide bandwidth rail-to-rail in and out operational amplifier. This operational amplifier and data sheets therefor may be obtained from Analog Devices, Incorporated.

Other circuits and other mathematical functions can be used as long as they amplify the lower level signals more than the higher level signals. In particular, a similar effect can be achieved by clipping the higher level signals by eliminating all return signal amplitudes above a certain value. When ultrasonic sensors are used in a pure ranging mode while thermal instabilities are present, it has been found that the location of a reflected signal is substantially invariable, provided the object is not moving, whereas the magnitude of the reflection may vary by factors of 10 or 100. It may sometimes be difficult to distinguish an actual return from the desired object from noise. Such noise may also be invariant in that it may be the result of reflections off of surfaces that are at substantial angles off of the axis of the transducer. These reflections are normally ignored since they are generally small in comparison with the main reflection. When thermal instabilities are present, however, these reflections can become significant relative to the main reflected pulse. One method of compensating for this effect is to average the returned amplitudes over a number of cycles. During dynamic out of position cases, however, there is not sufficient time to perform this averaging and each cycle must be evaluated independently of the other cycles. Using the selective amplification techniques described above, the apparent variation in the signal is substantially reduced and therefore the effects of the thermal instabilities are substantially eliminated. Again, there are many methods of accomplishing the desired result as long as the magnitude of the large reflected signals and reduced relative to the small reflected signals.

In at least some of these embodiments of the invention, multiple wave-emitting transducers are provided and operate simultaneously to transmit waves so that return waves, modified by the object, can be used to identify the object interacting with the waves. The object is thus identified based on the waves received by a plurality of the transducers after being modified by the object, i.e., waves are transmitted by a plurality of transducers toward the object, are modified thereby and return to the transducer and these returned waves are used to identify the object. Multiple wave-emitting transducers can also provided and operate simultaneously to transmit waves so that return waves, modified by the object, can be used to determine the position of the object interacting with the waves. The position of the object is thus determined based on the waves received by a plurality of the transducers after being modified by the object, i.e., waves are transmitted by a plurality of transducers toward the object, are modified thereby and return to the transducer and these returned waves are used to determine the position of the object. In a similar manner, multiple wave-emitting transducers may be provided and operate simultaneously to transmit waves so that return waves, modified by the object, can be used to determine the type of the object interacting with the waves. The type of the object is thus determined based on the waves received by a plurality of the transducers after being modified by the object, i.e., waves are transmitted by a plurality of transducers toward the object, are modified thereby and returned to the transducer and these returned waves are used to determine the type of the object. The identity, position and/or type can thus be provided.

1.1.2.2. Training Method with Heat

Since neural networks are preferably used herein as a pattern recognition system to differentiate occupancy conditions within the vehicle, it is quite straightforward to take data with and without the long-term and short-term thermal effects discussed above. The fact that the neural network can find and use the information within the data is not obvious since, especially in the short-term case, the reflected signals from the vehicle interior can vary significantly with time. Nevertheless, the neural network has proven that sufficient information is generally present to make an identification decision. Although neural networks are the preferred method of solving this problem, it is possible to use other pattern recognition systems, such as the sensor fusion system described in U.S. Pat. No. 05,482,314 to Corrado et al., using data taken with and without the thermal instabilities, resulting in a more accurate system than would be otherwise achievable.

A neural network for determining the position of an object in a vehicle can be generated in accordance with the invention by conducting a plurality of data generation steps, each data generating step comprising the steps of placing an object in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, irradiating at least a portion of the passenger compartment in which the object is situated (with ultrasonic waves from an ultrasonic transducer), receiving reflected radiation from the object at a receiver, and forming a data set of a signal representative of the reflected radiation from the object, the distance from the object to the receiver and the temperature of the passenger compartment between the object and the receiver. Then, the temperature of the air in the passenger compartment, or at least in the area between the object and the receiver, is changed, and the irradiation step, radiation receiving step and data set forming step are performed for the object at different temperatures between the object and the receiver. Thereafter, a pattern recognition algorithm, e.g., a neural network, is generated from the data sets such that upon operational input of a signal representative of reflected radiation from the object, the algorithm provides an approximation of the distance from the object to the receiver. By using a plurality of ultrasonic transducers, the contour or configuration of the object can be established thereby enabling the position of the object to be obtained.

In an enhanced embodiment, different objects are used to form the data and the identity of the object is included in the data set such that upon operational input of a signal representative of reflected radiation from the object, the algorithm provides an approximation of the identity of the object. Further, the objects can be placed in different positions in the passenger compartment so that both the identity and actual position of the object are included in the data set. As such, upon operational input of a signal representative of reflected radiation from the object, the algorithm provides an approximation of the identity and position of the object. In the alternative, a single object can be placed in different positions in the passenger compartment so that the actual position of the object is included in the data set. As such, upon operational input of a signal representative of reflected radiation from the object, the algorithm provides an approximation of the position of the object. The temperature of the air may be changed by dynamically changing the temperature of the air, e.g., by introducing a flow of blowing air at a different temperature than the ambient temperature of the passenger compartment. The blowing air flow may be created by operating a vehicle heater or air conditioner of the vehicle. The temperature of the air may also be changed by creating a temperature gradient between a top and a bottom of the passenger compartment.

The generation of a trained neural network in consideration of the temperature between the object and the ultrasonic receiver(s) can be used in conjunction with any of the other methods disclosed herein for improving the accuracy of the determination of the identity and position of an object. For example, the ultrasonic transducers can be arranged in a tubular mounting structure, the ringing of the transducers can be reduced or even completely suppressed and the transducer cone mechanically damped.

1.1.2.3. Single Transducer Send and Receive

When standard piezoelectric ceramic ultrasonic transducers, such as manufactured by MuRata, are used, and excited with a driving pulse of a few cycles, the transducer rings (continues to vibrate and emit ultrasound like a bell) for a considerable period after the driving pulse has stopped. In one common case, eight cycles were used to drive the transducer at 40 kHz and, even though the driving pulse was over at about 0.2 milliseconds, the transducer was still ringing at 1.3 milliseconds. Thus, if a single transducer is to be used for both sending and receiving the ultrasonic waves, it is unable to sense the reflected waves from a target that is closer than about eight to twelve inches. In many situations within the vehicle, important targets are closer than eight inches and thus transducers must be used in pairs, one for sending and the other for receiving. This is less of a problem when piezo-film or electrostatic transducers are used, but such transducers have other significant problems related to temperature sensitivity, the generated signal strength and physical size.

Another point worth noting is that when a piezo-ceramic transducer is used with a horn, as described elsewhere in this specification, the location of the transducer in the horn is critically important. As the transducer is moved further into and out of the base of the horn, the field pattern of ultrasonic radiation changes. At the proper location, the main pattern generally has the widest field angle and the radiation pattern is characterized by the absence of side lobes of ultrasonic radiation. That is, all of the energy is confined to the main field. Side lobes can cause several undesirable effects. In particular, when the transducers are used in pairs, one for sending and the other for receiving, the lobes contribute to cross-talk between the two transducers reducing the ability to measure objects close to the transducer. Also, side lobes frequently send ultrasonic energy into places in the passenger compartment where undesirable reflections result. In one case, for example, reflections from the driver were recorded. In another case reflections from adjacent fixed surfaces such, as the instrument panel (IP) or headliner surface, were received with the effect that when new IP and headliner parts were used, the reflection patterns changed and the system accuracy was significantly degraded. When reflections, either directly or indirectly, occur from such surfaces, the ability to transfer the system from one vehicle to another identical vehicle is compromised.

A. Damped Transducer

The ringing problem described above is related to the Q (a measure of the resonance capability of the transducer) of the device, which is typically in the range of about 10 to 20 for piezo-ceramic transducers. Attempts to add damping to the transducer have proven to be difficult to manufacture. A primary transducer supplier, for example, declines to supply transducers with greater damping or lower Q. In addition, many attempts to add damping have been reported in the patent literature with limited success. Experiments have determined, however, that if the damping material is placed in the transducer cone as shown in FIG. 176, in a manner as described herein, the damping can be accurately controlled. The greater the amount of the damping material, which is typically a silicone rubber compound, the greater the damping, with the hardness or durometer of the rubber playing a lesser but significant role.

If the cone is entirely filled with a preferred compound, too much damping may result for some applications depending on the material. However, if the rubber is diluted with a solvent in the proper proportions, the cone can be filled with the diluted mixture and the proper residue will result after the solvent evaporates. In this manner, not only can the proper amount of damping material be administered, but also the resulting uniform coating is desirable. One preferred compound is silicone RTV diluted with Xylene. By this method, a surprisingly consistently damped transducer is achieved. Other damping compounds can be used and different methods of achieving an accurate amount of damping material within the cone can be developed. Additionally, damping material can be placed on other parts of the transducer to achieve similar results. Another approach is to incorporate another plate parallel to, but on the opposite side of, the piezoelectric material from the resonating disk in the transducer assembly, such as one made from tungsten, which serves to reduce the transducer Q. However, the placement within the cone has had the best results and therefore is preferred.

FIG. 177 illustrates the superimposed reflections from a target placed at three distances from the transducer, 9 cm, 50 cm and 1 meter respectively for a single send and receive transducer with a damped cone as described above. FIG. 178 illustrates the superimposed reflections from a target placed at 16.4 cm, 50 cm and 1 meter respectively for a transducer without a damped cone. The upper curves represent the envelopes of the returned signals. In each case the returned signals from the closest target are shown in the lower curves.

Several distinct differences are evident. The closest that could be achieved without the ringing pulse overwhelming the reflected target pulse was 9 cm for the damped case and 16.4 cm for the undamped case. The undamped case also exhibited several unwanted signals that do not represent reflections from the target and could confuse the neural network. No such unwanted reflections were evident in the damped case. The 9 cm target reflection is clearly evident in the damped case while the 16.4 reflection interfered with the ringing signal in the undamped case. In both cases, the logarithmic amplifier was turned on after 600 microseconds as described below

B. Transducer in a Tube

Another method of achieving a single transducer send and receive assembly is to place the transducer into a tube with the length of the tube determined by the distance required for the ringing to subside and the closest required sensing distance. That is, the length of tube is equal to the distance required for the ringing to subside less the closest required sensing distance. In this situation, since the combined length of the tube and closest required sensing distance is equal to the distance required for the ringing to subside, the ringing will subside at the start of the operative sensing distance. For example, if the minimum target sensing distance is 4 inches and 8 inches is required for the ringing to subside, then the tube can be made 4 inches long. The use of a tube as a conduit for ultrasound is disclosed in DuVall et al. U.S. Pat. No. 05,629,681 entitled “Tubular Ultrasonic Displacement Sensor”.

DuVall et al. shows a displacement sensor and switch including a tube which function based on the detection of a constriction in the tube caused by an external object. The sensor or switch is placed, e.g., across a road to count vehicles, along a vehicular window, door, sunroof and trunk to detect an obstruction in the closing of the same, and in a vehicle door for use as a crash sensor. In all of these situations, the tube must be placed in a position in which it will be compressed or constricted by the external object since such compression or constriction is essentially to the operation of the sensor or switch. The tube is used as a conduit for transmitting sonic waves. A sonic transducer is arranged at both ends of the tube or at only one end of the tube. Sonic energy is directed from a transmitting transducer into the tube and received by a receiving transducer. If the tube is compressed (deflected) or obstructed, a change in the received sonic energy is detected and the location of the compression or obstruction can be determined therefrom.

A variety of examples of a transducer in a tube design are illustrated in FIGS. 179A-179F. A straight tube 820 with an exponential horn 820A is illustrated in FIG. 179A. FIGS. 179B and 179C illustrate the bending of the tube 820 through 40 degrees and 90 degrees, respectively. FIG. 179D illustrates the incorporation of a single loop 820B and FIG. 179E of multiple loops 820C, which can be used to achieve a significant tube length in a confined space. It has been found that there is about a 3-dB drop in signal intensity that occurs when transmitting through an 8-inch tube having the same diameter as the transducer and no significant effect has been observed from coiling the tube. A surprising result, however, is that very little additional attenuation occurs even if the tube diameter is substantially decreased providing care is taken in the lead in of the ultrasound into the tube. Thus, it is possible to use a tube which has perhaps a diameter of half that of the transducer will little additional signal loss. This fact substantially facilitates the implementation of this concept since space in the A and B pillars and the headliner is limited.

A smaller tube 820D is illustrated in FIG. 179F where the tube is now shown to have a straight shape; however, it can be easily bent to adjust to the space available. FIG. 179D and FIG. 179E illustrate a transducer assembly similar to FIG. 179A but wherein the tube is now coiled and can be molded as two parts and later joined together permitting the assembly to occupy a small space. Thus, now the single transducer send and receive assembly not only permits measurements of objects very close to the mounting surface, the headliner for example, but the assembly need not occupy significantly more space than the original two transducer design. There is a substantial cost saving since only a single transducer is required and only a single pair of wires also is needed. A mounting device is required in any case and the design of FIG. 179E is no more expensive that the earlier mounting hardware design which needed to accommodate two transducers. Thus, a substantial improvement in performance has been achieved with the additional benefit of a substantial reduction in cost.

Care must be taken in the design of the tube assembly since the reflections of the waves back into the tube at the end of the tube depend on the ratio of the tube diameter to the wavelength. The smaller the tube, the greater the reflection. If the tube diameter is greater than one wavelength, less than one percent of the energy will be reflected but this still may be large compared with the reflection off of a distant target. One method of partially solving this problem is through the use of a wave pattern shaping horn as disclosed below and illustrated in FIGS. 179A-179F.

1.1.2.4. Delay in Turning on the Logarithmic Compression Amplifier

If the return signal logarithmic compression amplifier is turned on at the time that the transducer is being driven, in some designs, the combination of the very strong driving pulse and the signal smoothing effect of the amplifier can cause a feed forward effect. This creates an interference with the signal being received making it more difficult to measure reflections from objects close to the transducer. It has been found that if the start of the amplifier is delayed for a fraction of a millisecond the ability to measure close objects is improved. This is illustrated in FIG. 180 where the effects of three different cases is shown for the standard 40 kHz undamped ultrasonic transducer.

1.1.2.5. Electronic Damping

Although the use of a Colpits oscillator is well known in the art of buzzers, such as used in alarms on watches where energy considerations require that the buzzer be driven at its natural frequency, such oscillators have heretofore not been applied to ultrasonic transducers. Particularly, the Colpits oscillator has not been used in a circuit for electronically reducing and preferably suppressing the motion of the transducer cone 822 and thereby eliminating the ringing. The principle, as illustrated in FIGS. 181A and 181B, is to use a separate small, auxiliary transducer 821, which could be formed as part of the main transducer 825, for the purpose of measuring the motion of the main transducer 825. This auxiliary transducer 821 monitors the motion of the resonator 824 and provides the information to feedback to appropriate electronic circuitry. Transducer 821 may be donut-shaped or bar-shaped or an isolated section of the ceramic of the main transducer 825. This feedback is used during the driving phase to ascertain that the transducer is being driven at its natural frequency. The separate transducer also permits exact monitoring of the transducer motion after the driving phase, permitting an inverted signal to be used to reverse drive the transducer, i.e., mechanically dampen the resonator 824, thereby stopping its motion. This design requires some added complication to the transducer and circuitry but provides the optimum reduction or suppression and thus the closest approach to the transducer by a target.

In addition to the Colpits oscillator, another design that may also have application to solving this problem and is known in the art is the Hartley oscillator.

By reducing or eliminating the ringing, all of these damping methods provide better control over the total number of pulses that are sent to the passenger compartment. This results in a sharper image of the contents of the passenger compartment and thus more accurate information.

An alternate method of eliminating the ringing is illustrated in FIG. 182. In this case, the natural frequency of each transducer is sensed and the drive circuitry is tuned to drive the transducer exactly at its natural frequency. Once the natural frequency is known, however, then, based on some trial and error development, a sequence of pulses is derived which is fed into the transducer drive circuit with reversed polarity to counteract the motion of the transducer and quickly reduce or suppress its oscillations. Thus, by this method the same results as are achieved from the Colpits design with a much simpler implementation that does not require an additional sensing element to be designed into the transducer or the additional wires to the transducer that are needed in the Colpits design. Note that the waveforms in FIG. 182 are shown as square waves whereas they are in fact sine waves. Also note that the ringing has been shown as shorter than the drive pulse whereas in fact, it can last four to five times longer depending on the transducer design. With the implementation of the technique disclosed here, the period of the ringing is reduced to about 10% of what is typically present in the standard transducer.

1.1.2.6. Field Shaping

The purpose of an ultrasonic occupant sensing system is to transmit ultrasonic waves into the passenger compartment and from the received reflected waves determine the occupancy state of the vehicle. Thus, waves that do not reflect off of surfaces of interest, such as the driver (when the passenger side is being monitored) and the instrument panel (IP) and headliner as discussed above, add noise to the system. In the worst case, they can interfere with or mask other important reflected signals. For this reason, significant improvements to the occupant sensing system can be achieved by carefully controlling the shape of the ultrasonic fields emitted by each of the transducers.

A. Horns

A horn is generally required especially when transferring the ultrasound waves from the tube to the passenger compartment. The angle of radiation from the tube without the horn would be quite large sending radiation into areas where no desired object would be situated. Since the horn can now be arbitrarily shaped, the radiation angle can not only be made narrower but can be arbitrarily elliptically shaped so as to cover the desired volume in the most efficient manner. An example of a horn 826 shaped to create an elliptical pattern is illustrated in FIG. 183A (the opening at the end of the tube being elliptical) whereas the elliptical pattern 826A created by the horn 826 is shown in FIG. 183B. Previously, the output from the transducer had to be baffled or blocked so that it did not receive reflections from the rear seat or the driver, for example. This wasted energy and required additional hardware and thus increased the cost of the installation.

The horn may be a part of the tube, i.e., formed as a unitary structure, or formed as a separate unit and then attached to the tube. Generally, the transducer would be mounted in a cylindrical tube and the horn would begin right at the end of the cylindrical tube. As such, the horn starts out as being cylindrical in the vicinity of the transducer and then expands into the horn. The tube does not have to be cylindrical but may have other forms.

B. Reflective Mode

An alternate method of achieving the desired field shape is to use a reflector. This has the advantage that more control of the sound waves can be achieved through the careful shaping of the reflector surface as illustrated in FIGS. 184, 185 and 186. FIG. 184 illustrates the reflection off of a flat plane 827A, FIG. 185 illustrates the reflection off of a concave surface 827B and FIG. 186 illustrates the reflection off of a convex surface 827C, respectively. The figures illustrate the extremes of reflections that can be achieved and permit a great deal of freedom in the design of the resulting field patterns. The design problem is significantly more complicated than appears from the figures, however. Since the dimensions of the reflectors are of the same order of magnitude as the wave length of the ultrasound, simple ray tracing, as shown in the figures, will not produce accurate results and an accurate computer model, or extensive trial and error testing, is required.

1.1.2.7. Neural Network Improvements/Dual Level ANN

A dual level neural network architecture has proven advantageous in improving categorization accuracy and to prepare for the next level occupant sensing system that includes Dynamic Out-of-Position measurements (DOOP). This will be discussed in section 11.1 below.

1.1.2.8. Dynamic Out-Of-Position (DOOP)

Although it has been proven that crash sensors mounted in the crush zone are better and faster at discriminating airbag required crashes from those where an airbag deployment is not desired, the automobile manufacturers have preferred to use electronic sensors mounted in the passenger compartment, so called single point sensors. Since there is no acceptable theory that guides a sensor designer in determining the proper algorithm for use with single point sensors (see for Breed, D. S., Sanders, W. T. and Castelli, V. “A Critique of Single Point Crash Sensing”, Society of Automotive Engineers Paper SAE 920124, 1992), there are many such algorithms in existence with varying characteristics. Some perform better than others. There is a concern among the automobile manufacturers that such sensors might trigger late in some real world crashes for which they have not been tested. In such cases, the automobile manufacturers do not want the airbag to deploy.

If the occupant position sensor designer could rely on the single point sensor doing a reasonable job in triggering on time, or at least as good a job as the electromechanical crush zone mounted sensors, then cases such as high speed barrier crashes need not be considered. Since the characteristics of the electromechanical sensors are well known and can be easily modeled, the occupant position sensor designer can determine when this kind of sensor would trigger in all crashes and as a result high speed barrier crashes, for example, need not be considered. Single point sensor algorithms, on the other hand, are generally proprietary to the supplier. Therefore no assumptions can be made about their ability to respond in time to various crashes. Consequently, the occupant sensor designer must assume the worst case in that the sensor will trigger at the worst possible time in all crashes. It has been shown that if the sensor responds nearly as well as the electromechanical crush zone mounted sensor, that determining the position of the occupant every 50 milliseconds is adequate (see for example Society of Automotive Engineers paper 940527, “Vehicle Occupant Position Sensing” by Breed et al, which is included herein by reference). With the requirement that all worst cases be considered, the time required for measuring the position of an occupant who is not wearing a seatbelt in a high speed short duration crash is closer to 10-20 milliseconds.

Sound travels in air at about 331 meters/second (˜1086 feet/second). If an object is as much as three feet from the transducer, the ultrasound will require about 6 milliseconds to travel to the object and back. If the processor requires an additional three milliseconds to process the data (assuming that the neural network is solved each time new data from any transducer is available), it requires a total of about 10 milliseconds for a single transducer to interrogate the desired volume. If four transducers are used, as in the present design, at least 40 milliseconds are therefore required. As discussed above, this is too long and thus an alternative arrangement is required when ultrasound is used for DOOP. One solution is to operate the system in two modes. Mode one would use four transducers to identify what is in the subject volume and where it is, relative to the airbag, before the crash begins and mode two would use only one, or at most two, transducers to monitor the motion of the object during the crash. The problem with this solution is that occasionally the selected transducer for mode two could be blocked by a newspaper, for example, or a hat. If two transducers were used this problem would theoretically be solved but there is a problem as to which transducer should be believed if they are providing different answers. This latter problem is sufficiently complicated as to require a neural network type solution. In this case however, the neural network really needs the output from all four of the transducers to make an accurate decision due to the vast number of different configurations that can occur in the passenger compartment. To make a highly reliable decision, therefore, all of the transducers need to be used which means that they all have to work at the same time. This can be accomplished if each one uses a different frequency. One could operate at 45 kHz, a second at 55 kHz, the third at 65 kHz and the forth at 75 kHz, for example. The 10 kHz (or even 5 kHz) spacing is sufficient to permit each one to transmit and receive without hearing the transmissions from any other transducer. Thus, the apparatus used in the instant invention contemplates, for most applications, the use of multiple frequencies in contrast to all other systems which have thus far been disclosed.

For the majority of the cases, the position of the occupant at the start of a crash is all that is necessary to determine if he or she is out of position for airbag deployment determination. This is because the motion of the occupant is usually very small during the time that the crash sensors determine that the airbag should be deployed. Below is a mathematical analysis demonstrating this conclusion. There are some rare cases, however, where it would be desirable to track the occupant in as close to real time as possible. Such cases include: (1) panic braking where the occupant begins at a significant distance from the danger zone; (2) a multiple accident scenario where the first accident is not sufficient to deploy the airbag but does impart a significant relative velocity to the occupant; and (3) an unusually high deceleration prior to a crash such as might occur due to sliding along a guard rail or going through mud or water. Some automobile manufacturers add a fourth category, which is the case of a malfunctioning or poorly functioning crash sensor where the motion of the occupant even in a barrier crash can be significant. For these cases, dynamic out of position (DOOP) needs to be considered and careful attention paid to the development of the post processor algorithms.

Dynamic Out-of-Position Analysis

Concern has been expressed as to whether the Ultrasonic Automatic Occupant Sensor (UAOS) is sufficiently fast to detect Dynamic Out-of-Position (DOOP). This is based on the belief that the UAOS updates only every 100 milliseconds and that to measure DOOP an update every 10 milliseconds is required. This study therefore will demonstrate two points:

The UAOS can achieve an update rate of once every 10 milliseconds.

A slower update rate of 50 milliseconds or 20 milliseconds is in fact sufficient.

One critical point is that the UAOS system, because of the use of pattern recognition, knows the location of the important parts of the occupant and therefore will probably not be fooled by motions of the extremities. Simpler systems could misinterpret the motion of the arms of a belted occupant for the occupant's chest.

The first issue is to determine what update timing is required for DOOP and when. If the occupant is initially positioned far back from the airbag, for example, there is little doubt that even a 50 millisecond update time is sufficient.

In order to get a preliminary understanding of the problem, consider the simple case to a constant deceleration pulse varying from 1 to 16 G's for a period of 0.1 seconds. 1 G represents something greater than what occurs in braking and 16 G's represents an approximation to a 35 MPH barrier crash. The argument is made that a square wave approximates braking pulses and that vehicles are designed to attempt to achieve a square wave barrier crash pulse. It is also believed that the square wave approximation to a crash pulse is more severe for the purposes here than some other shape. Later in this preliminary report, a Haversine crash pulse will be considered. A Haversine crash pulse is a sine wave upwardly displaced so that the lowest point is on the x-axis.

The problem then can be stated that: given that there is some clearance from the airbag at the time that an airbag inflation is initiated such that if an occupant is closer than that clearance the airbag should not be deployed (the restricted zone), how much additional clearance must be provided to allow a prediction to be made that the occupant will move to within the restricted zone before the sensor triggers. This additional clearance, called the sensing clearance, will of course depend on the sensing time which we will assume here will vary from 10 to 100 milliseconds. The worst case is where the occupant is at rest and then begins moving just after his position has been measured. Since it is assumed that a measurement has been made before occupant motion begins, the calculation of the sensing clearance amounts to determining the motion of the occupant, represented here as an unrestrained mass, that can take place during the sensing period. The worst case initial position of the occupant is where the occupant is initially very close to the restricted zone since if he or she starts out at a greater distance there is more time to take position measurements and then project the position of the occupant at a later time.

For the assumptions above, which are believed to be worst case, the sensing clearance can be calculated as shown in the table:

“na” in the table signifies that the crash sensor would have triggered before a second measurement reading

ACCELERATION

SENSING TIME

G's

0.01

0.02

0.03

0.05

0.1

SENSING CLEARANCE (inches)

1

0.02

0.08

0.17

0.48

1.93

2

0.04

0.15

0.35

0.97

3.86

4

0.08

0.31

0.70

1.93

7.73

8

0.15

0.62

1.39

na

na

16

0.31

1.24

na

na

na

VELOCITY (mph)

1

0.22

0.44

0.66

1.10

2.20

2

0.44

0.88

1.32

2.20

4.39

4

0.88

1.76

2.63

4.39

8.78

8

1.76

3.51

5.27

8.78

17.56

16

3.51

7.03

10.54

17.56

35.13

can be taken. For the 16 G 0.03 second case, for example, the sensor would have triggered before 0.02 seconds. From the table, it can be seen that for this worst case scenario for 20 millisecond sampling the sensing clearance is about 1 inch, for 30 milliseconds it is about 1.5 inches and even for 50 milliseconds it is less than 2 inches.

In the table below, 0.7 G braking was assumed followed by a Haversine shaped crash pulse. The program was run for a variety of crash impact speeds, braking durations and initial occupant positions. Out of many thousands of cases which were run, only those cases are shown where the computer predicted that the occupant was further than 8 inches, the restricted clearance, and where the actual position at sensor triggering was within the restricted clearance, that is less than 8 inches. The sensor triggering time was based on the 5 inch less 30 millisecond criteria. It is noteworthy that only a simple linear extrapolation of the last two measurements was used to predict the occupant position. A more realistic extrapolation formula would of course give better results.

Crash impact speeds were varied from 8 to 34 mph with 2 mph steps. For each impact speed, crash duration was varied from 30 ms to 180 ms with 30 ms steps and for each crash duration, pre-crash braking times varied from 100 to 2200 ms with 300 ms steps. Finally, for each pre-crash braking time initial occupant clearance varied from 30 inches to 4 inches by 4 inches steps. From that full set, these are the cases where the occupant clearance at sensor fire was less than or equal to 8 inches and the predicted clearance was over 8 inches.

Driver motion when airbag opened, inches

5.0000

Airbag deployment time, ms

30.0000

Time between position and velocity measurements, ms

20.0000

Pre-crash braking deceleration, g

0.7000

Minimum occupant clearance at sensor fire, inches

8.0000

Vcr

is the crash impact speed, mph

T

is the crash duration, ms

tb

is the pre-crash braking time, ms

Dpab0

is the initial occupant clearance, inches

Vc0

is the vehicle pre-braking speed, mph

ts

is the required sensor fire time, ms

Dpaba

is the actual occupant clearance at ts

Dbarpabts

is the predicted occupant clearance at ts

Dpabm

is the last measured occupant clearance, inches

Dpabm2

is the previous measured occupant clearance, inches

Vcr

T

tb

Dpab0

Vc0

ts

Dpaba

Dbarpabts

Dpabm

Dpabm2

8.0

90.0

100.0

12.0

9.54

150.49

7.9

8.82

9.59

10.36

8.0

120.0

100.0

12.0

9.54

165.17

7.2

8.01

8.96

9.92

10.0

120.0

100.0

12.0

11.54

157.44

7.7

8.53

9.35

10.16

12.0

150.0

100.0

12.0

13.54

164.91

7.5

8.19

9.06

9.94

14.0

150.0

100.0

12.0

15.54

160.24

7.7

8.47

9.27

10.08

16.0

150.0

100.0

12.0

17.54

156.47

8.0

8.68

9.44

10.19

16.0

180.0

100.0

12.0

17.54

168.03

7.4

8.09

8.97

9.84

18.0

180.0

100.0

12.0

19.54

164.57

7.6

8.28

9.12

9.95

20.0

180.0

100.0

12.0

21.54

161.62

7.8

8.45

9.25

10.04

22.0

180.0

100.0

12.0

23.54

159.05

7.9

8.59

9.35

10.12

From these results, a sensing clearance of less than 1 inch appears to be adequate.

To further validate the conclusions here, a study should be done using real crash pulses and realistic braking decelerations. From the above analysis, it is unlikely that sensing times faster than 20 milliseconds are required and 50 milliseconds is probably adequate.

In specifying the 8 inch restricted zone, the automobile manufacturers have obviously not taken into account the velocity of the occupant as he or she enters that zone since the amount of displacement into the restricted zone while the airbag is deploying will obviously vary with occupant velocity. A full MADYMO simulation validated by crash and sled tests, of course, will ultimately settle this issue. MADYMO is a computer program which is available from TNO Road Vehicles Research Institute, Schoemakerstraat 97, Delft, The Netherlands. It is often used to simulate crash tests (as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 05,695,242).

A. DOOP—Multiple Frequencies

In a standard ultrasonic system as described above, typically four transducers interrogate the occupant, one after the other. The first transducer transmits a few cycles of typically 40 kHz ultrasound and waits for all of the echoes to return and then the second transducer transmits, etc. Since it takes as much as 7 to 10 milliseconds for the waves to be transmitted, received and for the reverberations to subside, it takes approximately 40 milliseconds for four to do so. If four different frequencies are used, on the other hand, all four transmitter